


Moments

by ItsyBitsyBatsySpider



Category: DCEU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Crossover, Family, Freddy is a cutie and i would die for him, Gen, Headcanon, Humor, I love these guys, Other, Shazamily - Freeform, a bunch of fics, billy is a little shit, dc, marvel crossover, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2020-01-07 02:19:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 92,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18401156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsyBitsyBatsySpider/pseuds/ItsyBitsyBatsySpider
Summary: a bunch of oneshots involving the Shazamily and the aftermath of the movie.





	1. Falling

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many ideas for this family that i just needed a place to put them all down. Hope you guys enjoy them!

“Hey Billy?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Have you ever tried using magic? Like for real? Or maybe even flown up so high, say ‘Shazam’, fall a couple hundred feet and say it again?” Freddy asked all of a sudden while he and his foster brother were doing their schoolwork. 

 

Billy glanced up from his English assignment, a confused look on his face. “What?” 

 

“Like...have you ever tried falling a couple hundred feet and then turning back into Captain Sparklefingers right before you hit the ground? Or maybe making an actual magical portal? That would be pretty cool.” Freddy said as he motioned with his hands in big gestures.

 

Billy shook his head at Freddy’s antics. “No Freddy. I haven’t thought about that? And I said ‘No’ to Captain Sparklefingers! That’s a stupid name, you can come up with something better.” 

 

He shrugged, munching on some chips. “Hey, I’ve tried, but none of them work, okay!”

 

Billy leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. “Well I like the sound of ‘Captain’, what about Captain Marvellous?” 

 

Freddy shook his head. “No, that’s too long...Captain Marvel maybe?”

…

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

“Nah.” 

 

“Well, okay then, I’ll try to come up with something else.” Freddy said as he turned back to his homework. But something Freddy had said stuck with Billy, and now that it did, the Champion couldn’t focus on his work anymore. Billy looked outside, and saw that it was still light out, the warm sunbeams peeking past the silver clouds, the clear blue sky, and even from here he could see the trees moving in the strong winds.

 

Billy bit his lip in thought. 

 

Maybe he should try it. 

 

It could be fun.

 

He would be careful. 

 

What’s the worst that could happen? 

 

Making up his mind, the young hero stood up, closing his books, and walked over to retrieve his red hoodie. His sudden movements did not go unseen by his brother. 

 

“Hey! Where’re you going?” He asked curiously as he too began to close up his books too and grab his crutch. Billy quickly motioned for Freddy to stop. 

 

“Wait no, I’m just..gonna go… try something.” He pulled on his brown jacket. “I won’t be long.”

 

“Oh!” Freddy exclaimed. “Should I get the camera? This’ll be a great addition to my Youtube channel!” 

 

“No, no, don’t get the camera. I just wanna try something on my own. I’ll be right back!” 

 

Freddy looked at him suspiciously before sitting back down on the chair. “Mmkay.” he said. “You better be back in time for dinner though. I’m not covering your ass this time if you’re late.”

 

Billy smirked.”Sure thing Freddy.” 

 

The teen walked out of the house, suddenly greeted by a strong gust of wind and smiled. He ran away from the house that he had come to call his home, and checked his surroundings briefly before calling out the name of the Wizard who gave him his powers.

 

The lightning struck. And in its place stood the hero of Philadelphia. A man in a red suit, with golden gauntlets and boots, and a white cape to complete the look. Along with his iconic lightning emblem glowing on his chest. 

 

Billy smiled as he felt the power of magic run through his veins, and he laughed just for a moment before he took off. The ground fell away behind him as he soared through the silver sky, and he relished the feeling of the wind whistling passed his ears as he continued to climb higher and higher and higher. 

 

Before long, Billy was well above the skyscrapers of his city. The cars below him looking like tiny ants and the people even smaller than that. The same height that Sivana had taken him too not too long ago. And seeing the city from up so high without any help was a bizarre feeling for the teenager; one that he hoped to live with from now on. 

 

The Champion took in a few deep breaths, trying to suppress his panic as he looked down and contemplated what he was going to do. The terror that he had felt when he fell, without knowing he could fly yet, had stayed with him for weeks and it was starting to creep up again. But Billy shook his head. 

 

No, he wouldn’t get hurt. He had control now. He knew what he was doing....relatively speaking. 

 

With a final breath, Billy squared his shoulders and cast all fear from his mind. Having the Courage of Achilles sure helped sometimes. 

 

“SHAZAM!!” He shouted to the never-ending sky. 

 

And suddenly the clouds opening up to let a lightning bolt through, and in an instant, the hero had turned into a teenage boy and who was falling.

 

Falling faster and faster, the wind roaring past his ears, burning his cheeks and bringing tears to his eyes, his hoodie and jacket flapping behind him. 

 

It was a joyous feeling. Being weightless among the clouds and air with nothing but the atmosphere and earth below him. Billy laughed and whooped in delight, his voice unheard and left behind along with his stomach as he dropped farther and farther. The wind flinged his body around, twisting and flipping and spinning until Billy could no longer tell which way was up; but thankfully his body repositioned itself and soon enough he was falling just like a skydiver would.

 

This was a lot more fun than the last time! He could understand why people found skydiving addicting. 

 

Billy had just begun to pass a couple of buildings, watching himself fall in the mirrors reflecting his joy and falling form, when he noticed that it would probably be a good time to change back. 

 

‘But no,’ he thought, ‘the challenge was to change back at the last minute. Plus it’d be fun to scare all of these rich bitches.’ he smirked. 

 

The ground started coming up, close enough that Billy could see the car’s windows, limbs on trees, and the people beginning to point at him as they watched him fall; plus Billy’s ears, cheeks, and nose began to sting from all of the windburn. 

 

‘Guess that’s my cue’ he thought.

 

“SHAZAM!” he yelled again, turning into the Mightiest Mortal once more, and stopping just fifty feet off the ground. 

 

Billy laughed, the adrenaline still coursing through him, and shaking his head. Man, what a rush that was! Falling was just as incredible as flying was! A couple of people waved to him, which he gladly returned before shooting off like a rocket ship towards his home. This was going to be a fun story to tell Freddy. 

He had to do this again later.


	2. A Brother Just Like YOu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddy has nightmares and Billy is there to lend an awkward hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's shorter than most of my stuff, but i think i wrote it well. Hope you guys enjoy it! It's been a while since i wrote angst and stuff.

_I just want to let you know_   
_You mean the world to me_   
_Only a heart such as yours_   
_Would give so unselfishly_

_The many things you’ve done_   
_All the times that you were there_   
_Help me know deep inside_   
_How much you really care_

_Even though I might not say_   
_I appreciate all you do_   
_Richly blessed is how I feel_   
_Having a brother just like you_

 

* * *

 

Freddy Freeman loved his new brother, and that was a fact.

 

He loved eating lunch with him, talking about his most recent superhero endeavor. He loved watching Doctor Who with him and debating which companion was the best. He loved racing him while they were their alter egos. He loved teasing Mary with him. He loved their whisper conversations in the dead of night when everyone else was asleep. He loved making videos of him and uploading it to Youtube. He loved talking to him. He loved it when he was able to get Superman, THE Superman, to come to eat lunch with them in front of the whole school. 

 

And it was GREAT being able to go be a superhero with Billy. 

 

Hell, when they first started out it was the most fun Freddy had ever had in his life. Chasing down bad guys, getting rich and famous, being a part of an origin story, getting a lair. It was fucking AWESOME. 

 

But above it all, he loved having a brother. 

...  
  
...

Which is why Freddy couldn’t bear the thought of being responsible for Billy getting hurt. 

 

That fateful day when he had led Sivana to his own home, where all of his siblings sat, was one of the worst days of his entire existence! Just knowing that behind those doors were his brothers and sisters, so vulnerable and unknowing of the danger to come had formed a rock in his stomach. Then when he thought about how if Billy got hurt...it would be because of him. 

 

It would be his fault.

 

And Freddy hated himself for it. He had been so weak at that moment and because of that weakness, did his best friend get hurt. 

 

The fear that clutched his heart that night stayed with him for weeks after it had happened. And there were more nights on end when he would have nightmares of Sivana doing even worse to Billy than what really happened. 

 

He had a nightmare one night where Billy had actually drowned and he couldn’t do anything to help him except freeze and watch. 

 

There was one time where the Batarang had missed and it hit Billy instead, and he watched in horror as Sivana took the prototype and stabbed it into his sibling’s gut. 

 

Another time he dreamt that the Shazam spell didn’t work, or he didn’t say it in time, and Billy was dragged across the ground by the Sins into darkness, desperately screaming to Freddy for help.

 

And each time Billy would cry out to Freddy to either save him or run away. 

 

Those were the nights where Freddy woke up in cold sweat. Shivering and unable to go back to sleep, the blankets offering little to no comfort and warmth for the boy. The images had been burned into his mind and they refused to fade away like dreams normally do. 

 

So the boy vowed to himself that he would never be that weak again. Nor be the cause of any of Billy’s pain. 

 

Which is why one night, after everyone had gone to bed and there wasn’t a peep in the house, and when the only source of light was the orange street lamp peeking through the curtains, did Freddy have another nightmare.

* * *

 

It was dark. 

 

And it was cold.

 

And he was scared.

 

The only source of light came from an old worn staff and a glowing blue ember. Freddy’s heart stopped. It was Sivana again. A chill went down Freddy’s spine as he watched the light spread until he could see Billy. And not as his superpowered form, but as just plain ole’ Billy Batson. 

 

“Billy?” he whispered into the dark air. 

 

Blood dripped from his mouth and cuts littered across his face, and Sivana held him by his throat, suspended in midair. Billy’s feet kicked lamely and his too small arms clawed at the man’s arms. 

 

Freddy gulped in nonexistent air.  Fear began to take hold inside of him and the boy suddenly felt so heavy. So very, very heavy.

 

“ _You have a choice, boy_ ” Sivana growled. “ _You or your friend.”_

 

There was no hesitation. “Me! Pick me! Always me!” 

 

The man looked at him strangely, that blue glow seeping into Freddy’s soul as he watched in heart-throbbing pain as Billy slowly came to a stop. Hanging still. 

 

**“ME! IT’S ALWAYS ME!”**

 

Then just like that, Billy was on the ‘ground’ and coughing for air. But the happy moment was short lived as a claw of shadow burrowed deep into Freddy’s stomach. It was so sudden. He never saw it coming. Blood began to gurgle up his throat, and Sivana walked towards him, piercing blue eye glowing brighter and brighter with each step.

 

“ _You are a fool._ ” he whispered, anger boiling with every word. But Freddy wasn’t watching him, he was looking at Billy. Hoping, just hoping, that he would stand up and help. 

 

The boy sat up from the ground, sickly green eyes glancing at brown, and with a knowing smile, Billy shot up off the ground and ran away. His footsteps leaving no sound as he disappeared into the never-ending darkness.

 

_ “He will save himself before he even thinks about coming back for you.”  _

 

Freddy glanced at the black floor not muttering a single word, before staring Sivana straight in the eye, a look of defiance emanating from the boy. 

 

“Good.” he hisses. 

 

The man’s face contorts into one of fury a mere moment before he pulls his arm back and thrusts another dagger made of shadow into Freddy.    
  


 

The young boy gasped for air, clawing at his chest, suddenly feeling too claustrophobic and pinned down, trying to find what was holding him down and struggled to throw it off. He couldn’t get it off, it wouldn’t come off, it held him fast and it wouldn’t COME OFF! Chest heaving and mind cloudy and arms struggling, Freddy was finally able to cast aside his binds, only to find that it was just his blanket. 

 

And then the shadows began to retreat from his mind, and Freddy found that he was still in his room. 

 

On his bunk bed.    

 

In his pajamas. 

 

The boy let out a strangled gasp and closed his eyes, hands covering them as he tried to calm himself down, hands shaking and heart thundering. He was a royal mess. 

 

Billy hanging limp from Sivana’s hands flashed in front of his eyes and Freddy gasped. That was one of the worst nightmares yet. Freddy wrapped his arms around himself, trying to offer some level of comfort but to no avail. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and his head shot up. He had to make sure Billy was okay. The boy swallowed thickly, feeling as if cotton was suddenly lodged in his throat. 

 

“Hey...Billy?” his voice sounded weak and hoarse to his ears.

 

The room was quiet, for an achingly long time. 

 

“Billy?” 

 

Said boy finally hummed, not opening his eyes. “Yeah, Freddy?”

 

The boy began to ramble. “If hypothetically, sometime in our future, I get captured for some reason and the supervillain who caught me puts you in a situation where you have to choose between saving me or saving yourself, I want you to promise-”

 

Billy lightly scoffed, a sleepy smile on his face, “Yeah, I know.” 

 

“I want you to promise me that you’ll save yourself.” 

 

The smile vanished. Evergreen eyes shot open. And in an instant the young superhero was awake and throwing his blanket aside with his head hanging over the railing of the bunk bed, looking at his brother upside down. 

 

Over the past few weeks, Billy Batson had grown to love his found family. He had come to learn to love them like his own and actually call them his mom and dad and brothers and sisters; and just recently, he had come to the resolution that he would die for any of them. Willingly and without a doubt. So hearing one of his beloved brothers say that he would rather die and be left behind than be saved, was troubling. 

 

“I’m sorry, I think my ears are clogged. Because I could’ve sworn you just said that if I had to choose between saving myself and saving you, that I should save me.” 

 

Freddy nodded, a solemn look on his face. Billy shook his head and tried to laugh it off. Taking note of how he was sweating and shivering, and gripping his arms in a death hold.

 

“No, you can’t be serious. I didn’t hear you right did I?” 

 

Freddy glared at his brother. “I’m not kidding Billy. If you have to choose, choose yourself.” 

 

The brunet shook his head, his hair twirling. “Nope. I’m not gonna talk about this.” he leaned backward and lied back down on his bunk again.

 

“Hey! I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you!” he whisper-yelled.

 

“And I’m trying, to subtly avoid it!” his best friend whisper yelled back. 

 

Freddy sighed. His shoulders shrinking inwards and his head bowing. This was going to be a hard conversation to have with his roommate. 

 

“Look, Billy,” he began, “I keep thinking over and over about how it was my fault that Sivana found you. It was because of me that you got hurt, and it was because of me that he was able to get to everyone else.”  The dark-haired boy clutched his comforter. “And I don’t want that to happen again… it can’t.”

 

It was silent for a long moment, and Freddy held his breath, waiting for a reply. But before long, Freddy heard the top bunk creak quietly, followed by the soft pitter patter of feet on the bunk’s ladder. He looked up to see Billy standing there, in front of his bed, with a weird look set on his face. 

 

Then suddenly, without saying a word, the boy plopped down next to him and pulled one of the blankets on top of his legs. Billy crossed his arms and leaned on the wall behind him, a sigh escaping his lips. 

  
  
  


It was awkward. 

 

You could cut the anxious tension with a dull knife. 

 

Freddy didn’t say anything and neither did Billy. 

 

The brunet scratched behind his ears, and glanced at Freddy but quickly looked away. He looked just as uncomfortable as the disabled boy felt. But he knew that eventually, he was going to have to say something. He just hoped it wasn’t the wrong thing. 

 

“Freddy,” he began. Said boy sucked in a breath. “I can’t promise that.” 

 

He looked up at his foster brother, the dull orange light barely illuminating his face. He let out a sigh of defeat, his brown eyes cast downwards onto the bed sheets.  

“Maybe, in the past, I would have. When I was alone and just looking out for myself and searching for my mom; yeah, I probably would have left you behind then. But…” Billy shook his head. “That’s bullshit.” 

 

Freddy looked up startled, his eyes wide. 

 

“After everything that you and I have been through together, you expect me to just abandon you like that?” 

 

“Well-”

 

“No no, don’t say anything, because if you think for a second that I’m just gonna abandon my brother, just like my mom did to me, then you are so wrong.” Billy placed his hand of Freddy’s shoulder. “Honestly. Do you think that would be the best thing for me to do? To just up and leave you? Because I would rather die than leave you behind, Freddy.” 

 

Freddy’s eyes softened at the words and Billy didn’t realize how tense he was until his shoulders relaxed. 

 

“Come on Freeman… you’re smarter than that. You were there for me since day one and you have stuck by my side the whole time. Well, maybe not the whole time, I mean there was that one part where I was a jackass, but that doesn’t really matter right now.”

 

Freddy lightly chuckled. 

 

“But my point being…” Billy continued softly smiling. “Why would I leave behind the one person who didn’t leave me first?”

 

Freddy wiped the tears that had begun to spring from his eyes and blur his vision and sniffled his nose. And Billy, trying his best not to be awkward or uncomfortable, pulled the dark-haired boy into a hug. 

 

It was a rarity whenever Billy gave one of his family members a hug. For as far as anyone knew, he never hugged people of his own free will. The boy was too stand-offish for that, and everyone, minus Darla, knew how much Billy disliked physical affection or physical contact in general. So hugging his foster brother was a big deal. 

 

And Billy was never really one to comfort people. He never knew how to act or what to do in those situations when someone needed help or support. Maybe it was because he never treated his other foster family like real family or maybe it was because Billy was always uncomfortable with it. But whatever the reason was, it had begun to leave him the moment he accepted Darla, Eugene, Mary, Freddy, Pedro, Rosa, and Victor as his family. Now, it wasn’t as bad for him as it used to be. Of course, he wasn’t used to comforting people and it was still weird to him, but now it felt more natural. More real.

 

Freddy let out a shuddering gasp. He felt as if a grand weight had been lifted off his chest, and he could finally breathe. The boy did his best to keep the tears in his eyes, where they belonged, but he was having a little trouble. 

 

He was just so relieved. Not entirely sure what for though, but Freddy was just glad that it all turned out okay. Plus, he got a hug from Billy, which was probably a miracle all on its own. 

 

Billy gripped Freddy tightly and tucked his head into the other boy’s shoulder; while Freddy did his best to move his arm and wrap it around Billy’s back. The disabled boy took in a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves left over from his nightmare. Letting the cold night air rush into his lungs and escape with a warm puff of air. The tears stopped falling, but his shoulders still shook. Whether from exhaustion or emotion, Freddy couldn’t tell. 

 

But he could tell that nothing mattered more in the world than just him and his brother, hugging each other, in a moment they both knew would be carried with them for years to come. And they were both too afraid to move. They froze where they sat because neither one of them wanted to let go first.     

 

Once the moment had passed, Freddy let go and just sat there, hands folded in his lap. As did Billy. Then without a word, the dark-haired boy lied down on his bed, pulling back on the blanket he had cast aside; but he was surprised to find that Billy didn’t move an inch. 

 

“You’re not going back up?”

 

Billy shook his head and shifted. “No. I thought I’d stay here for a little while longer. You know, just until I know for sure that you’re okay.” 

 

A ghost of a smile flickered across the younger boy’s face. He tucked his head into the soft pillow, and even though Freddy knew he wasn’t going to fall asleep for a long time, it was nice being able to feel his foster sibling’s presence with him; knowing that he was there when he needed him allowed him to breathe freely. And soon enough, the raven could hear Billy snoring quietly. He stifled a laugh before it could burst forth and wake him.

 

So yes, Freddy Freeman loved his new brother.

 

He loved eating lunch with him and talking about his most recent superhero endeavor. He loved watching Doctor Who with him and debating which companion was the best and he loved racing him while they were their alter egos. He loved teasing Mary with him and he loved their whisper conversations in the dead of night when everyone else was asleep. He loved making videos of him and uploading it to Youtube and he loved talking to him and he loved spending time with him. 

 

But most of all, he loved having him there for him when no one else was, and he loved doing the same for him.

* * *

 

__ Even though I might not say  
I appreciate all you do  
Richly blessed is how I feel  
Having a brother just like you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you guys think!


	3. Squeaks and Pink Blankets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy's walking home from school when he notices something weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a super cute fic that ive been looking forward to for days!! I had so much fun writing it and i hope you guys enjoy it too!!!!

It was a clear day in the city of Philadelphia. 

 

The metal clouds hung over the city and a drop of rain or two splashed on the ground and  the wind was chillier than normal, but it was still a clear day. There were people milling around, minding their own business as the cars rushed past, leaving behind rotten air and a gust of wind, and the snow had barely begun to melt as spring started to arrive. It was that miserable time of year where the sun was in the process of coming out from behind the grey sky and warm everything up from the dreary winter. 

 

The city had had a cold snap recently, where there was foot after foot of snow, and the citizens were still recovering from it. Gladly though, it hadn’t lasted long; but the damage still remained. While Darla had been excited at the prospect of creating snowmen and throwing snowballs at her siblings, two of her brothers had been stuck shoveling snow and clearing out boxes from the basement when it had inevitably flooded. 

 

Billy was still sore from all the work. 

 

He shouldered his backpack back onto his stiff shoulders and began his walk home through the freezing air. The teenager noticed how quickly his nose became red and runny, and he pulled his beanie down farther onto his head, hoping that it would do something to help against the cold. Then with hands in his pockets, and shoulders scrunched up, he carried on his way. 

 

It wasn’t too unusual to see the young boy walking home by himself. Some days he would be by himself, thanks to getting stuck in detention. If he hadn’t gotten into any trouble today, he probably would’ve walked home with Darla and Eugene and Pedro. Mary was with some friends today from a school club and Freddy was at home sick. 

 

But sadly, since Freddy wasn’t there, he had no one to keep him from punching one of the Bryer brothers when they said that ‘Pedro should go back to his country.’ Just that phrase alone boiled Billy’s blood enough to go off on the guy, wailing on him till he was on the ground and nursing a bloody nose. He landed straight in detention, but if he could, he knew he would do it again.

 

Which led to the present, with Billy walking home alone next to old apartment buildings and smelly alleys, glaring at the pavement. 

 

The boy was kicking an old beer can, listening to it clatter over and over as it hit the ground, when he heard a small noise. Billy stopped and listened again, beer can forgotten. 

 

It sounded again. It almost reminded him of a squeaky chew toy, and it was coming from the alley right next to him. Billy tilted his head toward the alley, trying to listen for the sound again. The squeak chirped again and this time, he knew that it was definitely coming from the alley. 

 

Billy shuffled into the back street and began to shift some boxes around, and there were a bunch of old garbage bags littering the ground; so much in fact that it was hard to even walk through. The teenager threw a pair of garbage bags across from him when he heard it again, much clearer this time. 

 

_ Mew _

 

A cat! It was a freaking cat! 

 

“Hello?” Billy voiced quietly, and the cat went berserk. It started crying like crazy, meowing the entire time and he could hear a small rustling coming from behind a trash can, it was so happy that someone had finally, FINALLY, found it. 

 

Soon enough, Billy got behind the trash can and pulled up a bag to find a small black and white kitten. It’s fur mangled and wet, with its feet splayed out beneath it in an awkward manner. It’s big blue eyes stared up at Billy as he crouched down next to it. 

 

It meowed again, thankful that someone had come to its rescue. 

 

“Hey, there little guy,” Billy whispered. “What’re you doing out here?” It meowed, as if responding to his question, as he went to go pick the kitten up, but quickly found that it’s paws were stiff and freezing cold. Billy’s heart stopped. 

 

It’s paws were frozen. 

 

“Oh no.” the boy said. The cat mewed at him again. “Uhhhm.” Billy scratched his head. He knew that he couldn’t the cat alone in the cold anymore, it would be too dangerous for it. But he also didn’t know that Vasquez’s rules on pets. He had been to a foster home before where the parents kicked one of it’s kids out because the kid wouldn’t give up a stray dog they had found. And Billy didn’t want to get kicked out of the Vasquez’s! They were the best family he’s ever been with! 

 

And yet, he couldn’t leave the cat alone. 

 

Making up his mind, the boy took off his black beanie and scooped the kitten up inside. It mewed in surprise at the sudden warmth and change of scenery. Billy got off the ground and went back out to the front of the alleyway, leaving behind the trash cans and tucking the little animal inside his warm jacket. 

 

It was the best he could do till he got home.

 

* * *

 

 

Billy cracked the door open a smidge, peeking inside to see who was home. He guessed that Pedro would be in the garage, doing some kind of workout with his headphones on, and Eugene would be busy playing videogames in his room, so he wouldn’t have to worry about making too much noise. 

The only problem was Darla. 

 

That little ninja could be anyway, just waiting to pounce on Billy and give him a rib crushing hug. She may have been eight, but damn, she new how to crush someone’s organs with the power of love. 

 

Yet when Billy saw nobody in the living room or tv room, he guessed the coast was clear and walked inside. The cat made a small noise and Billy froze. 

 

Shit, he thought, waiting to hear the sounds of Darla’s footsteps. When nothing happened he let out a breath, and continued to stroll right towards the kitchen. 

 

The kitten decided it was time to poke it’s head out of Billy’s jacket, and the boy chuckled at the creatures curiosity. He could see it begin to sniff all the different smells of the house and it’s ears perk. 

 

It really was a cute little thing. 

 

Billy walked over to the cupboard beneath the sink and fished out a first aid kit. On the walk over he googled what to do if a cat had frostbite or frozen toes, which the cat clearly had, and had made sure to read up on it. Billy also noticed that the kitten had a large cut on its shoulder. Maybe it was from a fight, but he couldn’t be sure. Either way, both had to be treated and taken care of. 

 

Billy walked over to the table and set down the cat, who was struggling to move inside of his beanie, and opened up the kit. The kitten was crying the whole time Billy cleaned the cut, and it was getting louder the longer the teen worked. 

 

“Look, will you shut up okay?” he said to it. “It’s not that bad, it’s just antiseptic. Calm down.” the animal quieted, for a split second, before howling the loudest meow yet. 

 

_ “MEEEEOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!” _

 

“SHHHhhhh!!!!!” Billy whisper-yelled. But the kitten looked at him with the most innocent face it could muster. 

 

“Billy?” a voice called from down the hall. The sound of a crutch following.

 

“Shit.” the brunet cursed underneath his breath. It was Freddy. Billy had almost forgotten that he was home sick. The curly haired boy turned around the corner before Billy had time to hide the cat and medical supplies. 

 

Freddy’s eyes went wide. “Why do you have a cat?” he asked, his voice sounding like crap as he wiped his red nose. Freddy looked horrible. He had on a Superman inspired bathrobe and grey sleep shirt with black pajama pants, his eyes a bloodshot color and his face a sickly pale. 

 

Billy turned to the furry animal. “I told you to shut up.” 

 

_ "Mew" _

 

“Why do you have a cat?” Freddy repeated. The brunet sighed and looked at his brother. 

 

“I just found it alone by a dumpster with frozen feet. I thought I would take it here and help it out.”  Freddy was about to say something when he was cut off. “But you can’t say anything to Victor and Rosa!” 

 

The sick kid looked at him funny. “Why not?” 

 

“Because I don’t know what the rule is on animals in the house!” 

 

Oh okay, that made sense. And to be fair Freddy didn’t know what the rule on pets in the house was either. You’d think he would’ve known by now. 

 

“Okay.” Freddy said, his voice croaking. 

 

Billy looked at him in surprise. “Really? Just like that?” 

 

“Well, it’s not the strangest thing to happen here that we’ve had to keep a secret from Victor and Rosa.” 

 

Billy smirked. “Yeah, that’s true.” He turned his attention back to the little kitten and continued to work on it’s cut. “Hey, could you like get a blanket or something? I don’t think my beanie is gonna work much longer.” 

 

“Sure. Be right back.” Freddy said as he limped away, his crutch sounding loudly as he did so.

 

* * *

 

What Mary expected as she arrived at her home was Darla giving her a hug, Eugene yelling at his computer, Pedro doing his homework ignoring everybody, and Billy and Freddy watching tv. 

 

What she didn’t expect was the living room empty except for Billy and Freddy fussing over something too small for her to see. 

 

“Billy be careful! You don’t want to rip off one of it’s toes.” 

 

“How would I be able to rip it off?! I’m just wrapping it in a blanket!” 

 

Freddy raised his hands in surrender. “Geez, dude I don’t know! I’m just telling you to be careful.” 

 

“Oh yeah, as if I wasn’t being careful enough as it is.” Billy retorted sarcastically.

 

“What are you guys doing?” Mary asked suddenly. Freddy jolted in surprise and nearly fell off the couch while Billy snatched something small from the table and shoved it, although gently, into his brown jacket and glancing up at his sister, giving a very good fake smile as if nothing had happened. 

 

“Nothing!” Freddy exclaimed. His voice squeaky. His brown eyes were wide and red and his lip trembled slightly. 

 

Mary knew instantly they were hiding something. She set down her bag and placed her hands on her hips, nodding to Billy’s jacket. 

 

“What do you have in there?” 

 

“No-nothing. Just a-uh-sandwich.” Freddy said lamely. Billy rolled his eyes at his siblings antics and sent him a glare. 

 

“Really?” he said. “That’s what you came up with?” 

 

Freddy gave an incredulous shrug and Mary sighed. “Come on guys, seriously. What is it?” 

 

A muffled mew interrupted Billy before he could say anything and Mary looked at his jacket in surprise. Sighing in defeat, the boy pulled out a small bundle. A little black and white kitten with big blue eyes wrapped inside a bright pink blanket with only it’s head poking out. It greeted Mary with a small meow. 

 

“What?” 

 

“I found it by a dumpster.” Billy said. “It was hurt so I took it back here.” 

 

“But why are you hiding it?” their sister asked. The teenage boy shrugged. “I don’t know what Victor or Rosa think about animals.” he said, like that explained everything. Mary almost laughed. She covered her mouth with her hand, but that did little to suppress the snicker. Billy looked at her confused. 

 

“What?” he asked. 

 

“Victor and Rosa are fine with animals.” Mary explained. “I have a pet rabbit! Hoppy!” 

 

Billy’s nose scrunched. “You have a rabbit? Since when?”

 

“Since I was eleven.”

 

“Hoppy’s still alive?” Freddy asked. Mary looked at her brother shocked at the statement. 

 

“Yes! Hoppy’s still alive! She’s in my room right now.” 

 

Billy turned to the dark-haired boy. “Why didn’t you say anything!?” he exclaimed. Freddy’s hands went up in defense. 

 

“Hey! I thought Hoppy was _dead_! AND I’m sick so my head is all messed up!” 

 

Billy shook his head and looked down at the cat in his arms. It meowed up at the boy. He looked up at his foster sister. 

 

“So Rosa and Victor are actually fine with animals in the house?” 

 

She shrugged and walked over to sit down next to them, scratching the cat’s head. “Well you’re gonna have to talk about it to them first. But I think it’ll be fine. Do you even know if it’s a girl or a boy?” 

 

Billy shrugged. “Eh, no. I haven’t checked, but maybe later.” 

 

“Then what about a name?” 

 

The brunet smirked and slowly looked at Mary. The senior girl got a small shiver down her spine and briefly thought _Oh No_ , right before disaster happened. 

 

“Trashcan.” 

 

“What!? NO!” She cried out as Freddy shouted a triumphant “YES!” 

 

“That’s a horrible name for a cat!” She exclaimed. Billy shrugged and began to scratch the kitten’s head, who immediately started purring. 

 

“Well I like it!” Freddy said. Just as a sneeze racked his body and he was forced to sit down. 

 

“You can’t name a cute kitten like that, Trashcan!”

 

“Watch me.” Billy said still smirking. 

 

They argued for the next hour and a half about whether or not Billy should name the cat Trashcan. And much to Mary’s dismay she lost. How could she lose to her two idiot brothers when she was captain of the debate team? But Trashcan didn’t seem to mind. 

 

Then once Victor and Rosa got home, Mary told them about what happened while Billy sat off to the side, still wary about whether or not they’ll let him keep it. Rosa was more than happy to let an adorable kitten into the family, and she thought that the name was funny, while Victor was a little bit more reluctant. He wasn’t a very big cat person, but if it would make Billy happy, then he was fine with it staying. 

 

Then after laying down some ground rules about Trashcan, who was a girl, Billy promised that he would take care of everything about her. From making sure she ate, to cleaning the litter boxes, to taking care of her cuts and injuries. 

 

And it didn’t seem like Trashcan would be walking for a few days thanks to her cold feet.  

 

Quickly running to the store, Billy and Victor got some food, a small bed, and a water dish and box for their new family member. Victor looked at Billy as he picked out a clean bowl, and noticed how his smile hadn’t left his face since he and Rosa said he could keep the cat. It made Victor’s heart feel warm knowing that he was able to make his son so happy.

 

Then Darla was excited to find out that they had a new kitten, and more times than one Mary had to pry her away from the kitty. 

 

Once Billy had gotten home with all of the supplies, he made sure that everything was perfect for his new pet and that Trashcan was comfortable and fed. Billy never really had a pet before. I mean sure, he had come across some street cats and stray dogs while he was out by himself, but never one to keep and at every foster home he had never had his own pet! 

 

He was so happy his cheeks hurt from smiling so much. 

 

* * *

 

 

Then curfew came around, and Rosa went into Billy and Freddy’s rooms to say goodnight. It was late, about half past ten, so it was well past the kids’ bedtimes and Rosa knew it. 

 

Freddy was already passed out, his crutch cast halphazardly by his side and crumpled up tissues strewn across his bed as he snored loudly. Rosa stiffled a giggle at the sight. It was always a funny sight to see. 

 

Yet when she went to check on Billy, she saw that he wasn’t there. 

 

Heart skipping a beat, Rosa shifted the blankets over each other. 

 

He still wasn’t there. 

 

She rushed out of the room and hurried down the stairs. She was about to call to Victor for help and was ready to pull on her coat and head out to the car when she heard a light snore and mumble coming from the couch. 

 

Rosa paused. Sighing in relief as a smile creeped up her lips. She crept over to the couch and found, much to her endearment, Billy. 

 

Sleeping on his side, with a blanket tossed over his legs and drool slowly slipping out of his mouth. His normally neat hair was a mess and his usual scowl was replaced with a look of placidity. He was mumbling in his sleep. Something about cream cheese and Yoda? 

 

Rosa shook her head. 

 

And right next to him was Trashcan, wrapped up in her pink blanket nuzzled into Billy’s belly and sleeping peacefully, a light purr escaping the tiny animal. 

 

Rosa placed a hand over her heart and melted at the sight. 

 

Then without making a sound, she bent over and pulled the blanket up onto Billy’s shoulders, just like a mother would, making sure as to not disturb both the boy and his new companion. 

 

Giving one last look to her foster son, Rosa went upstairs and to bed, her heart still a pile of mush after seeing her boy look so happy.

 

Maybe this would be a good thing for Billy. And maybe it was the start of something great.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVED THIS CHAPTER! Definitely a favorite of mine. And yes, Trashcan will be making more appearances and Hoppy is a real rabbit that Mary saved from a cosmetics lab. Freddy pulled the fire alarm so that she could get her. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!!


	4. Pluviophilia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a rainy day and one of the Vasquez's children loves it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and i just thought that i would try something new. It's not an angsty or a very talkative chapter, but i just thought that id do something new. I really hope you guys enjoy it!

__ You were born to be a rainstorm  
To send your voice throughout the night  
To sing your song with falling raindrops  
to break the darkness with your light

* * *

_Pluviophile: (n) a lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days._

 

And it was during this rainy day, did a young pluviophile watch the small droplets fall from the sky, with a soft smile on his face. 

 

He believed that these were always the best days and they were always his favorites. And every time it did rain, he would try to find some way to sit down and watch it fall. Sometimes he would even open a window, just so that he could smell the petrichor drifting in. 

 

The boy took in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the earth after rain, and let it out, a smile settled on his face. His head rested on folded arms as he sat at the desk in his room, homework lying beside him forgotten, and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He had planned on doing his school work, but you know how plans seem to go sideways, and either way, the boy didn’t mind. 

 

He just wanted to sit there and listen.  

 

A while ago, he had been curious as to why he always loved thunderstorms and looked forward to days with bad weather. Because he knew that Darla hated it when it rained because she couldn’t go outside and play, and Mary thought that it was a nuisance at best, Pedro didn’t care for it, and Eugene was fine with the rain as long as it didn’t disrupt his Wi-Fi connection, and Billy didn’t exactly like it because of all the times he had been caught in the rain whenever he was temporarily homeless. 

 

So why did he love the rain so much? 

 

It turns out that the sound of raindrops can meld with a person’s mental state when they’re anxious and can provide a soothing congruity between emotional and external stimuli. The sound of rain acts like white and pink noise so it has a very calming effect for those who experience too much. It’s called reverse seasonal affective disorder, and it’s common in people who have anxiety and depression. 

 

Which explains quite a lot about his life.

 

But even though it’s called a ‘disorder’, the boy didn’t think so. He loved the rain too much and he didn’t think he would ever stop loving it. 

 

Tired brown eyes blinked slowly while he looked at the beautiful scenery in front of him, undeniably falling in love with it. 

 

Silver clouds draped across the sky in beautiful grey and white tones, not a speck of blue in sight, while clear droplets fell in only a rhythm that they could possibly know, pounding against the glass of the window panes. The comforting rumble of thunder rolled in the distance followed shortly by the familiar sound of lightning striking the earth; the smell of dust after rain hung in the air as the wind whistled past the boy’s window, rustling the trees and their leaves and turning their branches into hands; silently reaching for the world around them. 

 

The boy’s eyes mindlessly trailed a raindrop that raced down the glass and he sighed in contentment. 

 

But he was suddenly gripped with an impulsive feeling of wanting to do more. So sitting up straight and throwing off his blanket, the boy stood up with his crutch in hand, and he walked downstairs. The empty house echoed his footsteps as he limped downstairs and went over to the back door. He hadn’t bothered to put on a jacket or even some shoes for it was the middle of summer, and he didn’t think that he would need them as he walked out into the rain. He smiled brightly when the first few raindrops fell onto his head, wetting his curls. The boy let out a small laugh and shuffled out further into the backyard, attempting to kick at the puddles pooling in the grass but failing miserably. 

 

Yet that didn’t bother him. 

 

The boy looked up at the sky, arms opened wide and eyes closed as he reveled in the feeling of the rain splashing onto his person. He didn’t care that his clothes were getting soaked, or how there was grass and icky stuff sticking to his feet, he just wanted to spend time in the silvery storm.      

 

And while he stood there, he couldn’t help but think about just how incredible it was that each raindrop fell hundreds or even thousands of feet from the sky, falling alone and all by itself, only to meagerly plop onto the ground with no trace of ever being there. One droplet of water among millions. And then collectively those millions joined together to create a beautiful world of color and life. 

 

Rain fell across the forests, the oceans, the mountains, the fields, the jungles, and the cities, and it provides so much for every living thing in the world, that without rain... we wouldn’t be here. It was as simple as that. 

 

And it was sad too. 

 

Because people run away from the rain. They ran away from it and called it bothersome or depressing or bleak. They would groan in antipathy and complain about how it was ridiculous or how the rain was too much and they wished for it to go away. And whenever the boy heard someone say those words, he wished that they would come to understand that the rain was just as beautiful as any other sunny day, just in a different way. Because nothing beautiful would grow if it wasn’t washed with rain.

 

The cool drizzle trickled down the boy’s arms and face getting into his eyes and plastering his dark hair to his forehead. He knew that he most likely stayed out for far too long. The teenager was just about to walk inside when the sound of a car pulling up into the driveway met his ears, and he knew that his parents and siblings were home.

 

He shuffled back towards the door and went inside, wishing that he could’ve stayed out longer. But it was getting dark and even though it was summer, he knew he could still have gotten sick from staying out too long. Oh well, let’s hope that the rain sticks around long enough to last tomorrow. 

 

The boy reached the bottom of the stairs just when the front door opened and his parents came in, followed closely by his brothers and sisters, shaking off the water that had fallen on them. 

 

“Whew!” his mother, Rosa, exclaimed. “It’s really heavy out there. I hope it gets better tomorrow.” 

 

The boy shrugged and began to climb up the stairs. “I hope it stays.” he says to her. Rosa looks at her son and gasps.  

 

“Oh, Freddy! You’re soaking wet! Did you go out in the rain again?” 

 

Freddy nods, water droplets falling from his hair and onto the plush carpet below. He notices that Billy is looking at him strangely while everyone else has already accepted the fact that he had been in the rain. “Yeah, I couldn’t help it.” he says as she walks over and brushes the wet hair away from his face, her eyes looking in disdain at his sodden shirt. 

 

“Well, go change. I don’t want you to catch a cold.” 

 

“Okay.” he replies as he begins his trek up the stairs. 

 

Later that night he and his brother were laying in their respective bunk beds. Freddy had changed out of his wet clothes and his hair was almost done drying and he was in no more danger of getting sick. The rain was pounding on the roof above them when Billy spoke up. 

 

“So...what were you doing out in the rain?” he asked curiously, confusion clearly evident in his voice. 

 

Freddy shrugged, even though he knew that his roommate wouldn’t be able to see it, and it was quiet for a moment before he answered.  

 

“I just like it.”  

* * *

 

_But nothing beautiful would ever grow_   
_If it wasn't washed with rain_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think!


	5. I Have Made Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy makes a mistake and Rosa is there to comfort him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was requested by someone in the comments, Im sorry but I don't fully remember your username. But i hope you and everyone else enjoys it!

_ We have lived in fear, and our fear has betrayed us _

_ But we will overcome the apathy that has made us _

_ 'Cause we are not alone in the dark with our demons _

_ And we have made mistakes, but we've learned from them _

 

* * *

  
  


“Get him!” 

 

Those two words. That was all it took to get Billy to start running. 

 

He turned around and he dashed down the street, arms flailing and legs pumping as he struggled to get away from the infamous Bryer brothers. They yelled and screamed at the younger boy as they ran after him, trying to catch up. 

 

Billy turned around briefly, glancing at the brothers pursuing him. One of them was sporting a black eye and the other was limping ever so slightly, both of them growling at Billy. The consequences of bullying the foster kid’s family. Billy allowed himself to smirk at the pair before facing forward again. 

 

Maybe he’ll have some fun with the two of them. The teen saw the opening to an alleyway up ahead of him, a mischievous thought coming to mind. How hilarious would it be if they saw Billy Batson run down there and then come face to face with the Red Cyclone? The boy chuckled lightly at the idea. 

 

He put on another burst of speed, distracted by his prank, right before he turned the corner into the empty street. Only, he had been running too fast. And it had just rained recently. 

 

So before Billy knew it, he slipped on the wet pavement, sneakers flying out from under him and landing uncomfortably on his backpack. He let out a groan of pain and struggled to think straight just when the Bryer’s caught up to Billy; they grinned maliciously at their luck and Billy’s misfortune. 

 

_ Oh, fuck.  _ The superhero thought. 

 

“Well Batson looks like you weren’t fast enough. Let’s see if you can run away from this.” Brett murmured before swiftly kicking Billy in the side, brother following his lead. 

 

The bullies kicked Billy like he was a soccer ball with no sign of slowing down, then before long one of them got down and began punching the younger boy’s face. The hero tried to curl in on himself, in a vain attempt to protect his body from the wails that the Bryer’s were doing, but it did nothing. 

 

Billy felt his lip split and the warm dribble of blood stream down his temple. He felt his sides already begin to bruise and crack and he felt broken glass dig into his back as the Bryer’s continued to beat down on him. 

 

The one word that would save him in an instant hung on the tip of his tongue, waiting to be used. But Billy refused. He wouldn’t use it, not like this. He couldn’t bear to hurt anyone on accident with the lightning bolt that would strike down, even if it was the brothers who tormented his family. 

 

So Billy took the beating; with a whimper or two escaping his lips as he waited out the older boys. Sooner or later, they would lose interest or someone would come along and help, so all Billy had to do was wait for that to happen. 

 

And thank God that it was “sooner”, because Billy didn’t think he could take another punch. 

 

The familiar sound of a  _ whop-whop  _ echoed throughout at the alley and the bullies looked up from their fun to find a police car parked at the front of the entrance. Without hesitation the two boys got off the ground and ran away in the opposite direction of the car, just when a policewoman ran out, rushing to see what all of the commotions was. She didn’t catch the Bryer’s, but she did see Billy lying in a pile of trash bags with bruises and cuts on his face, forgotten. 

 

It seemed that he was spending a lot of time in alleys recently. 

 

The woman sighed and spoke into her walkie-talkie thing. What she said, Billy didn’t know, he was too focused on staying conscious that he didn’t even notice when the cop had knelt beside him and asked a question. Everything was too fuzzy and words sounded too warbled to his ears. It was like there was a fog inside of his head and no matter how much Billy shook his head, it wouldn’t clear away. 

 

The next thing he knew, he was in a cop car. 

 

Then he was at the station and someone was putting gauze or tape on his head. Billy wasn’t entirely sure what was happening or how he got there. They may have asked him questions, and he may have answered them vaguely, but he couldn’t really recall. 

 

But he did remember someone saying his name. He glanced up when he heard it called to him and saw a woman with short hair and a man with a bun and beard. He knew they looked familiar and that he should recognize them, but he just couldn’t for the life of him. The woman knelt beside him and looked into his eyes, chocolate brown meeting juniper green, and Billy was overcome with a feeling of safety. 

 

The next thing he remembered was walking up to a house large house. And then lying down on a couch with a heavy blanket covering him, a soft pillow underneath his head, and a warm vibrating thing lying on top of him. He couldn’t fathom what it could possibly be, but he knew that he appreciated the company.  

 

Exhaustion suddenly began to drown the boy, and Billy slipped off into the realm of sleep, into that ocean of dreams and yet dreamt of nothing.

* * *

  
  


The sound of birds chirping was the first thing Billy heard when he woke up, along with the sound of clattering coming from somewhere far away from him. He wasn’t really sure when he woke up, but he knew that one moment he was dead asleep and the next drifting awake. He could feel the warmth of a blanket on top of him, and he could smell pancakes wafting through the air, but other than that he wasn’t sure how he had gotten there. 

 

Billy’s eyes refused to open, and if he was being perfectly honest, he was absolutely fine with that. He doubted he would’ve been able to keep his eyes open anyway, so it was probably better if he just kept them closed. 

 

The teen was unexpectedly greeted with a wave of soreness and aches, and unprepared for the pain he felt, he let out a whine. 

 

The clattering in the distance stopped, and Billy wondered if someone had heard him. He hoped not.  

 

Footsteps echoed in his ears and began to grow closer and closer to Billy, and soon enough, someone stopped right in front of him. Billy could feel their presence before him as the person crouched down, and sooner than the boy could anticipate, he felt soft fingers brush the hair away from his forehead. 

 

Billy flinched at the feeling, having not expected it. But once he realized that they didn’t mean to startle him or intended to move their hand, did Billy relax into the touch. 

 

“Billy.” a voice said softly. The boy’s eyebrows scrunched together, ignoring the pain that came from the motion. 

 

He knew that voice.

 

“Billy, mi amor, it’s time to wake up.” the voice said again as the person began to stroke his forehead. It was such a nice feeling, Billy couldn’t help but hum happily. 

 

“Please, will you open your eyes for me?” the voice said again. 

 

It was such a reasonable request, that Billy couldn’t just say no. And either way, he didn’t think his voice would’ve worked. The boy struggled to crack open his eyes, and soon he began to panic when one of them wouldn’t open. But the one that did took a moment to focus, everything was fuzzy for a second before it all came into focus. He looked at the person kneeling beside him and was so glad when he finally was able to recognize her. 

 

It was Rosa. 

 

Her hair hanging at her shoulders, her eyes soft as she looked at Billy, and a small smile flitted across her face. 

 

“Good morning.” she said, her voice low and quiet. 

 

“G’mernin’.” Billy croaked out. Rosa fully smiled and brushed her son’s hair again. 

 

“How do you feel?” she whispered. “Are you sore?” 

 

Billy nodded, closing his eyes again. He was too tired to keep them open any longer. 

 

“Everyone already went to school. In case you were wondering.” he wasn’t, actually. “Darla didn’t want to go, she wanted to stay behind and wait until you woke up.” A ghost of a smile tugged at Billy’s lips at the mention of his foster sister. “Do you want anything to eat?” Billy vaguely shook his head. The boy was too tired and sore to do anything other than move his head and even that was bit of a stretch for him. 

 

Rosa continued to stroke his forehead. “Well, if you need anything, I’ll be in the other room.” she said before standing up from the floor. She was about to walk away when all of a sudden she felt something touch her hand. Rosa looked down and found Billy reaching silently for her, his eyes still closed, but it was clear what his message was. 

 

_ Stay _

 

Rosa smiled sadly and came back to the couch, taking a seat on the cushion next to her son. She placed her hand on his forehead once more and began to brush his hair again. The scowl on his face instantly faded away.

 

“I’ll stay right here, okay?” 

 

Billy nodded stiffly and curled up into the blankets and pillow. “Thnk yu.” he mumbled as he fell asleep. 

 

* * *

 

 

The next time Billy awoke, he was much more aware of his surroundings and where he was. The teen shuffled and rolled around in his blankets, quickly noticing how Trashcan was lying at his feet warming his toes. He smiled at the cat but promptly regretted it when his face suddenly throbbed in agony.

 

He hissed at the pain, hand shooting up to his face trying to comfort it but that did little to help relieve it. The young teen sat up, the blankets falling away from his body, and another gasp left his lips when he felt just how sore his sides were. 

 

His actions did not go unnoticed, for soon afterwards Billy could hear footsteps walking towards him. Just how good of hearing did Rosa have?

 

His foster mother walked into the room, and upon seeing her boy sitting up in his makeshift bed, came to sit beside him. 

 

“Oh Billy, sweetheart, how are you feeling?” she asked sincerely. The boy grumbled and held his head in his hands. 

 

“Shitty.” he replied to her, his voice sounding considerably better since that morning. Rosa gave Billy a disapproving look, and the boy had enough sense to look embarrassed at his choice of language. 

 

“Well then I’ll be right back.” she got up from the couch and made her way to the kitchen, leaving Billy behind as she grabbed the med kit from under the sink and an ice pack. She returned to find Billy absentmindedly petting Trashcan, and the little black and white cat was more than happy to be loved on. Rosa smiled at the two. 

 

She came over and sat down next to Billy, handing him a bag of frozen peach slices wrapped inside a towel. “Here you go.” she said to him. He grabbed the bag and slowly placed it on his eye. It was a bit too late for that, but the cold felt amazing on his burning eye. Rosa placed the med kit on the coffee table in front of her and opened it up, taking out the gauze, medical tape, and disinfectant. 

 

“Alright,” she announced. “Shirt off.” 

 

Billy looked at her with wide eyes, clearly shocked and uncomfortable with what she just said. And she understood why, but Rosa needed to check his injuries from last night. His bandages needed to be changed. Her foster son slowly set down the frozen bag and tugged at his shirt. He was hesitant for a moment before pulling it over his head and clutching the article of clothing close to him. 

 

Rosa looked at Billy and sighed. He looked terrible. 

 

His face was bruised purple and yellow, he had a large cut resting just above his temple, and he sported a split lip. His torso was wrapped with huge binding to help his cracked ribs and there were lots of large bandages on his back from where the glass had cut him. And to top it all off, an ACE bandage was wrapped around a sprained wrist. 

 

When she had first seen him, sitting at the police station, Rosa had to stop herself from crying. She couldn’t come up with a reason as to why someone could be so horrible enough to hurt her son this way. But she had pushed the tears back because she had to be strong for him. If no one else was going to do it, she would. 

 

The people at the station hadn’t bothered to check on any other injuries Billy might’ve had. They just figured out that he had a concussion and a few bleeds here and there. And they probably thought that he asked for it. And Rosa wished so hard that she could’ve yelled at them, to tell them to do their jobs and actually find who was responsible for hurting her boy, but she didn’t for fear of being written off as a hysteric mother. So the best she could do was get Billy home. 

 

Then once they got home, Rosa took it upon herself to be the one to patch Billy up. Taking courses in sports medicine really came in handy sometimes, like when one of her kids gets into fights that he can’t win. 

 

Rosa took in a deep breath, and let it out in a slow rush of air. Suppressing the feeling of anger bubbling inside of her.

 

“Turn around.” she instructed, and Billy did as he was told, albeit slowly. She began to check and replace the bandages on his back, and she did so carefully and with a trained eye. She moved on to the next couple of bandages, and to the next one and the next one in silence, while Billy stiffly sat there, not uttering a single word, which worried Rosa slightly. 

 

So she decided to fill in the silence. 

 

“So,” she began. “What happened?”  she didn’t get the whole story from the first responding officer and Billy had a concussion while he was at the station, so he wasn’t really able to give an accurate account of what happened. The boy before her hung his head, looking ashamed. 

 

“Billy?” 

 

The brunet was silent for a moment longer before taking in a shaky breath and speaking quietly. 

 

“I made a mistake,”  he said. “ I thought-” the words caught in his throat. “I thought that I could outrun them... But I was just being stupid. I shouldn’t have done that, I was being an idiot and I made a mistake, and I shouldn’t have done that.”  

 

Billy swallowed thickly. His hands rubbing each other nervously. 

 

“I’ll understand if you don’t want me here anymore.” 

 

Rosa froze. What did he just say? She set the gauze and tape down and placed her hand on Billy’s shoulder, turning him so that he was facing her. But his head stayed down and his messy brown hair covered his face. 

 

“What did you say?” she asked softly, almost unheard. The teen shrunk in on himself even more. 

 

“I’ll understand...if you don’t want me living here anymore.” 

 

Rosa’s heart broke. She couldn’t believe that Billy would say such a thing or even believe something like it. The woman licked her lips and reached for Billy’s hand to give it a reassuring squeeze, but he moved it away from her. Rosa’s breath hitched, those tears threatening to rise up but she pushed them down.

 

“Billy,” she whispered. “...why would you say such a thing?” 

 

The boy looked up, eyes shining in desperation before a steely look overcame them, he sniffled and hugged himself, wishing that he could put his shirt back on. He turned away from his foster mother, he couldn’t bear to see her disappointment when he told her the truth.  

 

“Because I get into fights. I cause trouble and I mess up and… I don’t deserve to be here.” he mumbles. 

 

“That’s not true.” Rosa says and Billy scoffs. 

 

“Yeah, it is!” He looks at Rosa, a strange look in his eye that she had never seen in the eyes of a child, but he glances away again before she’s able to interpret it. “I do nothing but make a mess of everything and sooner or later, you’re probably gonna get tired of it, and then I’ll be sent somewhere else!”

 

“Billy-”

 

“And I don’t want to leave, because this is the only family I’ve ever known, but shit follows me everywhere I go and I can’t stand it anymore,”

 

“Bill-”

 

“And I can’t do that Rosa! But I’m so used to being on my own and relying on myself, that...I don’t know if I can ever get over it and I don’t know if I could actually be a part of a family and I can’t bear to make any more mistak-.” 

 

Rosa reached out and grabbed Billy’s hand. His head shot up, startled at the sudden contact and he held his breath. Just realizing that what he said had probably offended Rosa in some way and now he was scared that she was upset with him. 

 

But when he looked at his foster mom, he didn’t see anger or annoyance, but sadness and compassion. Billy gulped, unsure of what she was going to do next.

 

“Billy,” she said. Her voice was full of kindness and understanding. “I don’t care, what mistakes you have made. I don’t care if you fail or if you mess up. I am proud of you no matter what happens. And no matter what you might think, you are a part of this family. You have been since the moment you walked through those doors, and you will be for now and always.” 

 

Rosa brushed the hair from his eyes and looked into them. Chocolate brown and juniper green, meeting once again. 

 

“You are my son, Billy, and nothing will ever change that.” and with that said, she pulled the boy into a hug, wrapping her arms gently around him, and kissed the top of his head. Billy was frozen for a moment, but then bit by bit, he put his arms around her too. He let out a shaky breath and then melted into the embrace. 

 

And they stayed there for a moment. Just long enough for Rosa to let Billy know that what she said was true and that he was a part of their family despite whatever mistakes he has made. And they didn’t matter to her because she knew without a doubt that she would love him despite everything he’s done. She was going to be his mother for all the goods and the bads and the in-betweens because that’s what mothers do and she didn’t want it any other way.  

 

Billy’s mom cleared her throat. “So, what exactly started the fight?” she asked curiously. Her son scoffed lightly at the memory. 

 

“I called the Bryer brothers dicks.” 

 

...

 

...

 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

* * *

 

_ we have made mistakes, but we've learned from them _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was excited to write this, and i love the Billy and Rosa dynamic and i really wished that there was more of it in the movie. But that's what fanfiction's for right?? 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think of it and im open for more requests!!


	6. North

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy gets his very first guitar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent two days on it, so im sorry if some parts of it are choppy or weird. I didnt proof read it. Stil, i hope you guys enjoy!

_ We will call this place our home _ _   
_ _ The dirt in which our roots may grow. _ _   
_ _ Though the storms will push and pull _ _   
_ __ We will call this place our home.

 

* * *

 

 

There she was. 

 

In all of her beautiful glory. 

 

Six bronze strings. Polished sunset colored body with scratched pickguard. A soft brown neck that was worn with use. And a frayed black strap. 

 

Ugh, she was gorgeous. 

 

Billy gazed at the guitar through the pawn shop window and sighed. He glanced down at the  ziploc bag in his hand and mentally counted all the money inside of it. Knowing full well that he was twenty dollars short, but still. 

 

Ever since he had seen the guitar in the window a couple of weeks earlier, he knew that he needed to get it. He couldn’t really explain it well, but Billy was just called to it. It was one day after school when he was walking home with Freddy and he just stopped. And there in the window he saw the sunset orange and red. Freddy bumped into him and had complained why he froze in his tracks, but Billy was too enraptured by the gleaming instrument to listen. 

 

Then when Billy got home, after doing one problem on his math assignment, went and asked Victor if there were any chores he could do to earn money. 

 

And from there, it became a regular thing for Billy to come home from school and work. 

 

At first Victor and Rosa didn’t know what was going on. All they knew was that their newest foster son wanted to work for money and did all the chores that nobody wanted to do. 

 

He painted rooms, cleaned the bathrooms, did mucky yard work, organized the entire house on more than one occasion, and cleaned the van inside and out. All just so that he could earn enough money to buy the guitar. 

 

Eventually, the Vasquez’s caught on, and wanting to encourage Billy in his new interest, left a few small dollar bills here or there where he could find them. They always denied it when Billy found the money and accused them of taking pity on him, but deep down he thought it was nice. So he let them continue to do it. 

 

And everyday after school, without fail, Billy would look at the guitar sitting in the store. Whether it was for a second or for a few minutes. Just thinking about strumming it’s chords or listening to it’s tune. 

 

But, he was twenty dollars short. And he couldn’t come up with any other jobs to do. So it looked like he’ll have to wait a little longer before getting the instrument. Billy sighed and looked at the price tag, feeling disappointed that he couldn’t walk in right now and buy it.

 

The teen felt a nudge on his arm and jolted. Remembering that Freddy was actually standing right next to him. 

 

“So are you going to go get it or are you going to stand there and drool at it all day?” he said sarcastically. Billy glared at his foster brother and shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder, pocketing the plastic bag. 

 

“Shut up. And anyway, I don’t have enough money.” 

 

Freddy nodded. “Well have you held it yet? How do you know it’s good?”

 

Billy sputtered. “I, uh, I haven’t, uhm,” Freddy raised his eyebrows at his best friend, and laughed. 

 

“Oh, come on Billy.” the dark-haired boy turned around and limped over to the door, opening it. “Let’s go check it out!” 

 

“Wait no Freddy!” Billy called out, his arm stretched towards the now closing door. The hero let out an annoyed sigh before resigning himself. He walked towards the door and entered, hearing the small bell ring it’s little tune as he did.

 

He looked around for his dumbass brother and threw his arms in the air when he didn’t initially see him. 

 

“Psst! Hey!” someone whispered to him. Billy turned around to find Freddy holding the guitar precariously with one hand on the neck, swinging slightly. The brunet’s heart almost skipped a beat. 

 

“Dude! Be careful with that!” Billy hissed as he swooped in and snatched the guitar from Freddy, who was smirking at his brother smugly. “Don’t drop it! I don’t have enough money to pay for it if you break it!” 

 

Freddy shrugged.  

 

Billy groaned and sent a glare to his friend before turning his attention to the instrument in his hands. Seeing it up close was super cool, and actually holding it in his hands...felt right. 

 

“Why don’t you try it out?” 

 

The boy glanced up at his brother, his eyes flitting back and forth between the guitar and him, when suddenly he sighed. 

 

“Fine. But just so you know, I literally know nothing about chords or tuning. So don’t you dare make fun of me.”

 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

Billy found a chair and quickly sat down in it, placing the guitar on his knee and wrapping the strap around himself. It felt like second nature to the boy. But he didn’t know what to do with it, so he just held it in his arms. Freddy looked at him skeptically. 

 

“Aren’t you gonna do something? “ he asked. 

 

Billy shrugged. “I don’t really know what to do?” 

 

The curly-haired boy gave an exasperated sigh. “Well, why don’t you just like, strum it? Nothing hard about that, right?”

 

“Fine, okay, whatever.”  

 

He placed his hand on the base string and strummed, the guitar resonated a sour sound. Both boys cringed at it and Billy shrunk in on himself embarrassed. 

 

“Hey!” a voice shouted from the back of the shop. Billy and Freddy started at it and looked at each other nervously, neither of them moving. Then all of a sudden, they heard clattering and someone came out from behind the counter; a woman in her late thirties, wearing a tank top and jean shorts. Her hair dyed dark purple and an undercut on one side of her head, so that half her hair swung down. 

 

The boys were both instantly intimidated. 

 

The woman walked over to them and nodded to the guitar in Billy’s hand. “What’re you doing with that?” she asked stiffly. 

 

“He-uh, he just wanted to try it.” Freddy stammers out. That shifty look of his overcoming his face and Billy knows immediately that the woman was going to get the wrong idea. 

 

“Uh huh.” she says, unconvinced. She crossed her arms. “Do you even know how to play it?” 

 

Billy looks up, the woman looking at him with a pointed stare. His mouth all of a sudden feels thick. 

 

“Uh, no?” he mumbles. The woman raised an eyebrow. 

 

“That’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question kiddo. You either know how to play a guitar or you don’t. I thought you would, considering I catch you looking at it everyday.” 

 

Billy’s eyes widened briefly before he scoffed and shrugged it off. “I don’t stare at it everyday.”

 

“Uh, yeah you do. You’ve been doing it for weeks. You aren’t planning on stealing it are you?” 

 

The boy swallowed and glanced down at the guitar. “No. I just really want it.”   

The woman let out a puff of air, and her arms dropped to her side. “Well do you have money to pay for it?” 

 

Billy shook his head. “I don’t have enough. I’m twenty dollars short.” He looked up at the woman. “But as soon as I have it I’m coming back and getting it.” the brunet took off the guitar strap and held it by its neck. 

 

“Do you think you could do layaway? So that I can come back later and pay the rest then?” 

 

The woman gave Billy a funny look. “Is this your first guitar?” 

 

The boy replied with a strange expression, but nodded his head. “Uh, yeah. It would be my first.” 

 

She hummed and then turned around, walking to the front. “You know what? I’ll do you one better. Follow me.” 

 

Billy shared a confused glance with Freddy before following the woman up to the front of the store, guitar still in hand. The woman rounded the corner so that he stood behind the glass cases and register. 

 

“What’s the price say?” she asked. 

 

“Uhm, $120? But I only have the hundred.” 

 

“Yeah, I know, I see that plastic baggy you carry around with you.” she said as she rung up the numbers. But when Billy saw the price, he saw that the woman applied a discount. Making the guitar thirty dollars cheaper than it already was. Billy blinked in surprise. 

 

“Alright, that’ll be $99.60.” she said. The boy’s eyes widened, imitating saucers, as he stuttered. 

 

“A-are you serious?” 

 

The woman nodded and turned around, shuffling around some boxes till she found what she was looking for, a large, black guitar case.

 

“Yup! Now come on, pay up. You should have forty cents left over.” 

 

Billy smiled broadly and dug into his coat pocket, pulling out the ziploc bag full of cash. He placed it on the counter and the shop owner grinned, opening it up. Once all of it was gone and the guitar was ‘fully’ paid for, she put it in the guitar case and clasped it shut. But something still bothered Billy. 

 

“Why are you giving this to me?” 

 

The woman glanced up at the teen and shrugged, closing the register. “Well you know. It’s your first guitar. You’ve obviously been saving up and you seemed like you really wanted it. The least I could do was give it a little push.” she slid the case over to Billy and offered him a smile. 

 

He took the case’s handle and pulled it over to him, the case feeling heavy with the weight of the guitar in his hands. It was a good weight. 

 

“Yeah, well um, thank you.” he muttered. 

 

The woman raised her hands. “You’re welcome. Hope you boys have a lovely day.” 

 

…

 

When Billy and Freddy got home with the guitar, everyone was excited to see it. Darla gasped when she saw the beautiful crimson and gold colors and immediately asked if she could play it. Billy had said no, of course, but he couldn’t help but feel pride when he saw everyone’s eye light up when they saw it. 

 

He took it upstairs and opened up his laptop, going to Youtube right away to try and find any tuning videos he could follow. He would be damned if he was going to play an untuned guitar. And as he began tuning the instrument, a sense of satisfaction overcame him every time a string was pulled into place.

 

Billy let out a breath of contentment. After working for so long, he finally had his guitar. And it was beautiful.

 

…

 

Everyday. That’s how often he tried to play it. 

 

He would come home from school or superheroing everyday and he would open the big black case and pull out the guitar that was too small for it. Giving the pegs a small turn here or there just so that it was perfectly in tune all the time. Then for hours he would strum the instrument, playing song after song or the same song over and over again until he knew it by heart. He found chord sheets online and printed those out, and while it had been difficult and slow at first, Billy soon got the hang of it. 

 

It took forever for him not to look at his fingers the whole time though. And at the beginning his fingers hurt all the time. They became sensitive and tough to the touch after a couple days of playing and Billy knew that he still had to grow calluses on his fingers to help with his strumming.

 

There were a few days where the boy would growl in frustration and put away the guitar a bit too harshly, whether it was because of a chord he couldn’t get the hang of or a song that was too difficult for him to learn just yet. Billy had been trying to learn how to play ‘Johnny B. Goode’ and he got so aggravated by the song that he didn’t pick the instrument up again for a day or two. But after some assurance from Freddy, he picked it up again and played. This time with a clearer mind. 

 

The first time he played in front of the family, wow, that was a big day. Because before that day, Billy wouldn’t play in front of anyone. It was always in his and Freddy’s room, and if you knocked on the door while he was practicing, he would instantly shut up and put it away. Sure, everyone could hear his strumming, but he never played in front of anybody. 

 

So when the Vasquez’s were having a bonfire in their backyard, with marshmallows and potato salad and hotdogs and campfire roasted vegetables, you could imagine their surprise when Billy went inside the house and brought out his guitar, slung over his shoulder. The boy sat down and nervously fidgeted with the strings, before softly plucking out a tune. The hum of the guitar filling the air with a vibrant sound, sounding as if it was alive.

 

He didn’t sing, he just played a couple of tabs and slinked into the back of his chair, but that was enough to put both him and everyone else at ease. He did mess up every once in a while, soliciting a quiet “shit” hissed underneath his breath, which made Rosa look at him disapprovingly. But Billy played until his fingers felt like they were going to bleed, and as much as he hated to he stopped. The last notes of the night hung in the air, and a feeling of drowsy happiness with it.    

 

…

 

The first time Billy broke a string, he stared at it in shock. He was strumming the guitar loudly, letting the strong music fill his ears, when he gave one stroke too hard and heard a big  _ twang.  _

 

The string flopped back and forth on the bridge and Billy just stared at it. He wasn’t really sure what to do, but he knew that he suddenly felt helpless. He grabbed it and looked at it, as if it was alien to him. 

 

He didn’t get it. 

 

He had been taking such good care of it. Why did it break? Did he tune the strings too much? Were they too tight? Was it because of the times he treated it too roughly? Maybe it was his fault the string snapped. Why couldn’t he have been more careful with it? 

 

His mind became overwhelmed with all of these thoughts, they kept tumbling and turning and twisting and spinning around in his head until it became too much for the young hero. He threw down the guitar onto a pile of clothes in his room and stormed out, barely registering that Mary was trying talking to him, and walked out of the house. 

 

He needed fresh air. 

 

Billy sat down on the porch and crossed his arms, resting them on his knees, and gazed out at the street. Letting his anger and anxiety fume inside of him as he did so. 

 

Who knows how long Billy sat there, he sure as hell didn’t know, but he began to think that he was being silly. It was such a stupid thing to be upset over something as replaceable as that. It was a string for Pete’s sake! Why would he be crying over it. 

 

The door behind him squeaked open, and Billy felt footsteps vibrate through the wood. His eyes looking out of their sides since he didn’t exactly feel like turning his head; and he felt someone sit down next to him. 

 

“What happened?” a voice said. It was Mary.

 

Still refusing to turn around, Billy stared at the street ahead of him. Swallowing thickly and licking his lips. “A string broke.” 

 

Mary nodded beside him, as if understanding how that could trigger such an angry reaction. “Yeah, that suc-.” she said. 

 

“I don’t get it.” Billy cuts off. “Why am I so upset about this? It’s just a stupid string!”  he chuckled half-heartedly. “It’s just a stupid string. There’s no reason to get emotional over it.” 

 

Mary was silent for a moment, wanting to give Billy a chance to say anything else, but when it became clear he wasn’t going to share anymore, she spoke up. 

 

“Well, yeah I guess. But,” the boy’s foster sister began. “You have been taking care of it since day one. You earned money for it and worked hard to get it. You practiced hard and you learned how to play it all on your own even though you didn’t have to.” She placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “So... I’m not surprised you got frustrated when a part of it broke.” 

 

Billy finally turned to look at Mary, and much to his curiosity saw she had a soft smirk on her lips, before turning back to the street. 

 

“How about we go get some new strings. There’s a music store not too far from here, so why don’t we go get some. Shouldn’t take too long.” 

 

Billy glanced at his sister, his anger disappearing as he nodded. A small smile tugged at his lips, but he pushed it down. 

 

They got into the car and drove down to the store in comfortable silence. 

 

Then later that same evening, Billy attached brand new strings to his beautiful guitar, now sounding even better than before if that was even possible.  

 

…

 

It was a cold afternoon when Mary, with Eugene, came home waving around a piece of paper. A great big smile on her face. 

 

She had heard that a new cafe opened up and Mary, being Mary, wanted to go try out the coffee and decided to drag along her little technophile brother since he desperately needed to get out of the house. And while she was there, talking with one of the baristas about the place and maybe some potential job openings, she was told about the monthly Open Mic Night. 

 

Where anyone could come and play music, recite poetry, or do stand-up comedy. The senior girl immediately thought about Billy and his sunset guitar.

 

So she grabbed a flier for the upcoming event and brought it home finding Billy immediately, who was minding his own business and plucking tabs on his guitar, and shoved the piece of paper in his face, startling him. 

 

He looked at it in her hand, raising an eyebrow skeptically. 

 

“What’s that?” he asked. 

 

“It’s a flier, what does it look like?” 

 

“Okay, and?” Billy reached out and grabbed the flier, barely glancing at the words written on it.  

 

“Just read it.” Mary urged. Billy gave his sister a look before reading the words out loud.

 

“Seven Seas Cafe invites you to Open Mic Night this Friday from 6pm-10pm. Come with a song or a poem or a stand-up routine, and show your community what you can do. All are welcome and food will be available.” 

 

Mary waited anxiously, watching to see the boy’s reaction. But she was massively disappointed.

 

“So, what? Do you want us to go or something?” he handed the flier back to her. “Gonna have to ask Rosa and Victor first though, I think Pedro has a study group or something going on that night.” Billy went back to play his guitar. Playing a tune on the frets that sounded suspiciously like the Batman theme. 

 

“Well, I,” Mary stuttered. “I was thinking you could play.” 

 

Billy froze, his hand hovering over the strings and his green eyes widened slightly. The brunet scoffed and shook his head. “No. I’m not doing that.” 

 

“Oh, come on Billy,” Mary persisted. “Please? You play so well and plus I think it’d be fun! You don’t have to sing, I just thought you would enjoy doing it.” 

 

The boy sighed, putting the guitar down and kept his head down, he refused to meet Mary’s eyes. 

 

“Would you at least think about it?” she said when she realized that Billy wasn’t going to give an answer right now. He nodded, still looking at the ground, and Mary left. Leaving the boy to his thoughts. 

 

She had really hoped that he would play, because Billy played his guitar phenomenally and Mary wished for him to share it with the world. And yeah, she knew that he was a bit reluctant with his music, but the open mic night was in a local shop, in a small community, and he would be playing in front of his family. It would be a safe space for him, and she wanted Billy to know it. Mary just hoped that he would come to understand that and find the courage to do it. 

 

Which is why a couple hours later, when Billy came up to her and said that he would play, she couldn’t help but give him a sudden hug. The boy jolted at the sudden show of affection, but eventually relaxed, he figured that he wasn’t going to get out of it anytime soon, so he reluctantly returned it.

 

Then Mary started chattering excitedly, asking him if he wanted any help preparing for it, whether it was a listening ear or someone to help him pick a song, but Billy waved her off. He already had something of a song in mind, and he didn’t want anyone hearing it until Friday. 

 

He wanted it to be a surprise. 

 

So he went upstairs to his and Freddy’s room and pulled out a laptop, going to song websites and scrolling through his Spotify playlist to try and find something to play for the big night. 

 

…

  
  


The week before the open mic night was stressful for Billy. He had found the song he wanted to play, but since he was reluctant to rehearse it while people were in the house, he didn’t know if he would have enough time to get ready. 

 

Which led to Billy turning into Shazam when everyone was asleep and fly out into the city, finding some reclusive rooftop so that he could practice his music in peace. 

 

And by the time the day came, Billy still didn’t think that he had had enough practice. The whole day at school he was going through the motions, sweating nervously and every one in a while he would have a small anxiety attack just thinking about getting up there in front of people at the cafe. 

 

Then afterwards when he got home, he raced straight up to his room and threw his bag on the ground, running a hand through his hair. Billy groaned into his hands and sat down in the chair by the desk, wishing that tonight would hurry up so that he could get it over with. 

 

The brunet looked at the clock. 

 

It read ‘4:21 PM’ in bold, red letters. 

 

_ Two hours.  _ He thought. He had been mentally counting down the hours all day, and each time one of them was shaved off, Billy would panic just a little bit. 

 

_ But technically one hour and forty minutes. But we’re leaving at 5:40. So actually I have.... An hour and twenty minutes. Shit, why did it have to be twenty minutes earlier.  _

 

His eyes flickered to the black case sitting in the corner of his room, and he had to stop himself from caving in. He felt like it was mocking him. 

 

It was agony to wait, and just briefly Billy thought that he could back out. But the thought was soon dismissed from his mind. His family was expecting him to play and he didn’t want to disappoint any of them. They had been so encouraging and supporting this whole time that Billy knew if he backed out of it now, he would feel guilty about it for months. Even if his family wouldn’t blame him, he would blame himself. 

 

The hero squared his shoulders. If he wasn’t going to do this for him, he would do it for them. 

 

The song was actually for them anyway.  

 

Billy stood up from his chair and gave his guitar one more look as if telling it to ‘fuck off’, and walked out of the room. He was going to do this... even if he messed up.

 

…

 

“Holy moley, I’m gonna throw up.” Billy said as he stood in the cafe, case in hand and fresh pair of clothes on. 

 

Freddy punched him in the shoulder. “Oh, stop being so melodramatic. You’re gonna be fine. There’s barely anyone here anyway! So even if you do mess up no one will know. Although I will and I’d definitely tease you about it for the next couple of years.”

 

Billy gave his brother a look. “Gee thanks. I feel so much better.”   

 

“Also, who says ‘holy moley’ anymore? It’s the 21st century Billy, this isn’t the 1940’s. Just say ‘shit’ like everyone else.” 

 

“Shut up, Freeman. I’ll do what I want!” 

 

Freddy shrugged and then walked over to the counter, ordering a chocolate muffin ad who knows what else. Billy looked around the cafe, and he had to admit, it was a pretty cool place. 

 

Light bulbs hung down from the ceiling, vintage lamps lit up the corners and chairs and couches were everywhere, old books and National Geographic magazines were littered around here and there, and the smell of coffee and baked goods drifted through the air. It was a nice and comforting scent and it did something to help Billy calm down. 

 

Rosa came up to Billy and placed a hand on his back. “Billy, honey, why don’t you go sign up. Victor already found a place to sit so you can head on over there when you’re done, okay?” 

 

“Okay, thanks Rosa.” 

 

The woman gave him a soft smile and headed over to the counter, joining Freddy in getting food. 

 

The brunet swallowed, feeling as if there was a frog in his throat, and headed over to the sign up sheet, his guitar feeling heavier with every step. After writing his name down on the paper, Billy was more than happy to go over and sit down with his family up at the front of the room, getting squashed between Darla and Victor who were having a conversation about which was better: tofu turkey or real turkey. 

 

The answer was obvious, yet Darla still persisted.

 

The lights in the room dimmed, and someone walked up to the front of the room, stepping onto the makeshift stage and tapped the microphone. 

 

“Hello everyone!” he said. “My name is Brandon and I’m so glad you all decided to join us tonight here at Seven Seas! And what a great turn out too!” 

 

Billy’s ears perked and he turned around looking behind him, and much to his dread saw that the room had filled up considerably more since talking to Freddy. The boy felt his heart drop into his stomach. 

 

He really hoped he didn’t mess up. 

 

Billy didn’t pay any attention to the host as he talked about other events and the shop, he didn’t really care. He just wanted to play his music and get this over with. Then before he knew it, someone was already on stage, playing a simple song and singing. 

 

Then there was a comedian on stage who gave a few good jokes and a few awkward ones. He was no John Mulaney, but he did well enough. 

 

And then a little girl read a poem, and soon all of the acts started to blur together.  

 

People played music, whether as a band or as a solo act, and Billy started to wonder if he was good enough to perform on stage. Mary thought so, but was that enough? 

 

He felt someone nudge his arm and turned to face Victor. 

 

“Hey,” he said. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” he asked, a tinge of concern in his voice. 

 

“O-oh, yeah. I should. Uhm, thanks.” Billy mumbled as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans ad  grabbed the guitar case, walking to the back of the room. Releasing a shaky breath, he pulled out his guitar and a low whistle greeted his ears. He looked up to find a random dude with another guitar sitting across from him, a look of awe in his eye. Billy recognized him as someone who had already performed and felt a pang of jealousy at him. 

 

“That’ a nice guitar.” he said. 

 

“Th-thanks.”

 

“Is this your first time performing?” he asked sincerely. Billy nodded, not trusting his voice right now. 

 

“Well, good luck. Also, in case you need to hear this, relax. It may not be a perfect performance, but you’ll be fine.” 

 

Billy huffed. “Thanks random dude for your infinite wisdom.” 

 

The man laughed. “My names Jeff, but yeah, you’re welcome.” Jeff stood up and began to walk away, but not before he said, “Just try to remember to have fun, and you’ll be okay.” 

 

Billy rolled his eyes and continued to tune his guitar and fiddle with his sheet music. He didn’t have enough time before he heard his name called out from the microphone. 

 

“Up next we have Billy Batson!” 

 

His stomach turned into lead as he stood up, fumbling with his guitar strap as he walked up to the stage. Palms sweating, evergreen eyes wide, hands shaking. He almost dropped his sheet music up there and his ears turned pink from embarrassment. He lowered the mic down so that it was even with his mouth, and gulped loudly. 

 

“H-hi. I'm Billy. And, uhm, this song goes to my sister Mary, who convinced me to do this, and also for my family. I- I really hope you guys enjoy it.”

 

Billy's fingers lightly touched the strings as he stared at the sheets, breathing in deeply as he tried to calm his racing heart and roaring blood. 

 

And with a final breath, Billy began to sing. 

 

The guitars melody followed along as he played the song that he had been practicing for days on end to learn, and all of the hours and stress finally paid off. 

 

_ We will call this place our home _ _   
_ _ The dirt in which our roots may grow. _ _   
_ _ Though the storms will push and pull _ _   
_ __ We will call this place our home.

 

A smile came onto the boys face as he looked to his family. Rosa wearing a proud smile with tears in her eyes and Victor puffed out his chest with proud. 

  
_ We'll tell our stories on these walls. _ _   
_ _ Every year, measure how tall. _ _   
_ _ And just like a work of art _ _   
_ __ We'll tell our stories on these walls.

 

Mary was covering her mouth and her eyes glistened with joy while Freddy had pulled out his phone and started taking a video. 

  
_ Let the years we're here be kind, be kind. _ _   
_ _ Let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide. _ _   
_ _ Settle our bones like wood over time, over time. _ _   
_ __ Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine.

 

Darla watched her older brother, a big ole smile on her face, and her little figure was shaking with excitement. Eugene looked shocked at the fact that Billy was singing, he thought that Billy didn't have a good voice. And Pedro continued to watch with that impassive look of his. 

 

But Billy knew that he was expressing surprise too in his own way. 

  
_ A little broken, a little new. _ _   
_ _ We are the impact and the glue. _ _   
_ _ Capable more than we know _ _   
_ __ To call this fixer upper home.

_   
_ _ With each year, our color fades. _ _   
_ _ Slowly, our paint chips away. _ _   
_ _ But we will find the strength _ _   
_ _ And the nerve it takes _ _   
_ __ To repaint and repaint and repaint every day.

 

Billy's heart grew lighter with each word he sang, and every strum of the guitar vibrated in the quiet hall, making it sound like it was alive in his hands. 

_   
_ _ Let the years we're here be kind, be kind. _ _   
_ _ Let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide. _ _   
_ _ Settle our bones like wood over time, over time. _ _   
_ __ Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine.

_   
_ _ Let the years we're here be kind, be kind. _ _   
_ _ Let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide. _ _   
_ _ Settle our bones like wood over time, over time. _ _   
_ _ Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine. _ _   
_ __ Give us bread, give us salt, give us wine.

 

Billy paused just for a moment, to let the song fully resonate within everyone before continuing with the final verse. 

 

His voice gently and soft as he sang the final words. 

  
_ Smaller than dust on this map _ _   
_ _ Lies the greatest thing we have: _ _   
_ _ The dirt in which our roots may grow _ _   
_ __ And the right to call it home.

 

The crowd was silent, and for a split second Billy thought that he had done something wrong and he didnt sound as good as he thought he did. But those worries vanished when everyone started clapping and cheering him. 

 

His foster family the loudest out of all of them. Billy's face broke out into a bright smile, his chest feeling fuzzy and warm as he climbed down from the stage to be pulled into a group hug. His cheeks turned pink in embarrassment, but he was too happy to care. 

 

Cause he did it. He sang for his family. And they were proud of him. 

 

Afterwards, when they were all heading home, Rosa wouldn’t shut up about how proud and happy she was. And Freddy was talking about putting the video he took on his Instagram account, because apparently Billy sang  _ that _ well, and Billy tried his best to stop Freddy; but his brother was having none of it. 

 

“Everyone needs to hear the great and mighty singing of Billy Arnold Batson!” he yelled in a stupidly deep voice. 

 

The brunet laughed. “That's not my middle name and you know it!” 

 

“Yeah, but one day I'll figure it out. I just gotta keep guessing.”

 

“Okay, but you're never gonna get it!” 

Freddy grunted in frustration and Billy chuckled at his ridiculous best friend. 

 

“Okay, but seriously. You were really good Billy. In another universe you would probably be a really good singer.”

 

The boy hummed. “What about an actor? I think I could be pretty decent.” Freddy shook his head. 

 

“Nah man, if anyone's gonna be an actor, it's gonna be me. I already got the looks!” 

 

The two of them laughed and got into the van with everyone else. 

 

Billy already putting the guitar in the back, and thinking just how amazing of a night it had been. He knew this was going to be a fond memory for years to come, and every word he sang was true. 

 

He was lucky to call this place his home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a real song ad its called North by Sleeping at Last. If yoiu havent please go check it out and tell me what you guys thought of this chapter!!


	7. Golden Eyes and Colored Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy finds a side effect of being the Champion of Shazam. Somedays he really wished he had a manual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to have fun and write a fun chapter, so please enjoy this as much as i did. Its a headcanon that i have and i really think itd be cool if Billy could actually do this.

_ Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes.  _

 

* * *

__

 

The sounds of dishes and silverware clattering and mindless chatter filled the dining room. The heavenly scent of pasta, chicken, and marinara wafted through and everyone's mouths began watering from the utter deliciousness of it.  

 

“Alright, all hands on deck!” Victor announced as everyone began putting their hands in the center of the table, even the ever skeptical Billy, just as their foster father began to lead their daily grace. 

 

“Thank for this food, and thank you for this day. I'm really glad we got to have some real meat today.” 

 

His joke was met with a few light laughs as everyone began to eat. Dishing up the beautiful smelling food and digging in without a second thought. Victor tried to make some conversation like he always does.

 

“So, what did you guys think of our superhero's latest stunt? Pretty crazy right?”

 

Eugene shrugged. “Eh, it was only a hostage situation. He's done far crazier than that.” the gamer said as he took another bite of chicken. 

 

Billy hummed in agreement as he ate his pasta. 

 

Recently there had been a bank robbery and the perps who were responsible had held everyone in the bank hostage at gun-point. Original, right? But anyway it didn't last long since Billy snuck in and took them all down one by one. It was pretty intense, but also just as Eugene said, he'd been through worse. 

 

“Well yeah, but still.” Victor defended. “I can't stop thinking about how he got in.” Billy slowed down his chewing. “I mean you'd think someone would notice a giant guy in a bright red suit with a glowing chest just waltz into a highly defended building. Even the news cameras should've caught something!” 

 

Billy and Freddy shared a nervous glance. Another thing about being a teen-turned-superhero, is no one seems to notice a small kid sneaking around the back of the bank to find any entrances to use to get in and stop a hostage situation. 

 

Victor shrugged. “Oh well, maybe he has super stealth or something.”

 

Freddy gave a delayed hysterical laugh, “Yeah! Who knows, maybe he does, because we sure don't.” 

 

Billy groaned and hung his head, shaking it. Why did his foster brother have to be so sketchy looking in these situations? But thankfully, Victor didn't seem to notice as he turned back to his food.

 

Meanwhile the brunet kicked Freddy underneath the table, making sure to go for the good leg. The dark-haired boy flinched slightly and he gave Billy an incredulous look. 

 

The young hero was about to glare at Freddy, silently telling his brother to shut the fuck up, when a piercing pain suddenly flared up behind his eyes and the world became soaked in white. His hands shot up to his face, dropping his fork onto the plate loudly, and covered them up. 

 

Everything too bright and energetic for his eyes to handle. 

 

“Billy?” Rosa asked, panic in her voice. She got up from her seat and rushed over to the boy, but when she got there he pushed back his seat and stormed past her. 

 

“I'm fine!” he called behind him.

 

His eyes felt like they were burning as he tried to open them and see where he was going. 

 

Managing to get to his and Freddy's room, while bumping into things here and there, the hero collapsed on his roommates bunk bed whimpering in pain. 

 

He hated how he sounded, even if he couldn't help it, so biting down on his fist, Billy tried desperately to muffle the noise. 

 

Billy didn’t know how long he laid there, consumed in a world of both black and white, but he was sure it was well past dinner once he heard someone walk into his room and felt their presence beside him. 

 

The brunet prayed that it wasn't Rosa, because honestly he didn't think he could handle her worry and concern right now.

 

“Billy!” it was Freddy, thank God. “Are you okay? What happened? Rosa’s worried sick about you! Why did you rush out of dinner like that!?” 

 

“I don't know!” Billy said alarmed. “Freddy help, it just happened! I don't know what to do Freddy, it hurts, what do I do!?” 

 

Freddy ran a hand through his curly hair and stared at his brother in shock and worry. He’d never seen Billy act like this before. This was completely new territory for him and he didn’t know how to navigate it whatsoever. He thought about what he could do as he looked at best friend who was struggling and in pain and was washed in guilt as he realized that he couldn’t do anything. Freddy felt an overwhelming feeling of helplessness as he looked at Billy’s scrunched up face.  

 

But then he saw Billy rubbing and closing his eyes shut, and then an idea came to mind. 

 

“Billy, listen. I need you to look at me.” the brunet whined and Freddy grimaced. “I know that it probably hurts like a bitch, but if there's something wrong with them and we won't know unless you open your eyes! We don't exactly have an opthamologist on call!”

 

Billy burrowed his head into the mattress, and as much as he hated it, Freddy was right. They wouldn't know what was wrong until he opened his eyes. 

 

So breathing in a deep shuddering breath, the boy slowly opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the brightness of the room; and what he saw, he did not expect. 

 

The foster brothers gasped at the same time and Billy bolted upright in the bed, eyes as big as dinner plates.

 

“Dude! What the hell is wrong with you?” Freddy exclaimed. 

 

“What’s wrong with me!? What's wrong with you! You're freaking glowing!”

 

“What? No I'm not!” 

 

“Yeah you are!” Billy began to gesture wildly with his hands. “You have this like blue and gold glow around you! What the hell is that!? What the fuck?” 

 

“Billy, I have no fucking clue what you're talking about, but yoUR EYES ARE THE ONES GLOWING GOLD MAN AND IT'S FREAKING ME THE HELL OUT!”

 

Freddy took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down from the outburst. When he had asked Billy to open his eyes and look at him, he did not think he was going to see the normal green eyes turned into a gleaming gold and white. The most he was expecting was a really bad pink eye or some shit! 

 

The disabled teen could literally see the light his golden eyes gave off, illuminating his brothers face, and it would disappear every time he blinked.

 

“Oh man.” he said.

 

What Billy did not expect to see when he opened his eyes, was a bright sky blue and gold aura surrounding Freddy. Nor did he expect the room to look brighter than before and give off this tingly feeling. A deep blue flashed in the corner, drawing Billy's attention and he saw Freddy's goldfish swimming idly by with a dark blue glow around it, completely unaware of the panic in the room. 

 

“Freddy?” Billy said, his voice shaking slightly. “What is happening to me?” 

 

He turned back to look at his roommate, whose jaw was opening and closing, and saw the colors around him flare. Billy leaned back in surprise. 

 

“What?” Freddy asked. 

 

“You're uh, uhm, c-color glowy thingy just like, uhm, flashed for a second there.” 

 

“Wait hold on a sec, what do you mean I have a glowy thingy? What’s that supposed to mean?” Freddy asked, curiosity in his voice. 

 

“It means that my foster brother looks like a fucking lamppost!” Billy exclaimed. The raven crossed his arms and sat on the mattress next to Billy, his mind racing a mile a minute, ignoring the swears and insult Billy threw at him.  

 

The boy repeatedly opened his mouth and closed it, as if he was going to say something but then chose not to at the last second. It was starting to cause Billy some anxiety when suddenly his brother's glow brightened up and he turned to face Billy, a smile lighting up his face. 

 

“Hey, what if this is a new power?” he asked.

 

“What?” 

 

“Yeah!” Freddy said, his glow steadily getting brighter and brighter. “Like, maybe this has something to do with you being the ‘Champion’ or whatever Sivana called you.” 

 

Billy squinted his eyes, the colors were getting to be so dazzling he could barely see Freddy's face anymore. “Okay, but what kind of stupid power is this? Being able to see imaginary lights? And also Freddy if you could tone it down just a little bit I'd appreciate that. Because right now you're nothing but like a big ray of sunshine.” 

 

Freddy's light instantly began to dim and his smile faded. “Oh yeah sure.” he said hesitantly, not fully understanding what Billy was saying. He turned around and grabbed something from the bedside table. “Here, how about you put these on?” 

 

Freddy held something out to Billy, who was just barely able to make out what they were. Sunglasses. 

 

“Thanks, that'd be great.” he said as he put them on. His eyes instantly feeling relief and the headache that was coming on slowed down. The lights were still there, but thankfully they weren't as bold now. 

 

“Alright. So as far as we know, this has something to do with you being the Chosen one or whatev-” 

 

Freddy was cut off by the sound of the door opening and Rosa poking her head through. When she saw Billy wearing the sunglasses she frowned in confusion and came all the way in. 

 

“Billy, are you alright? Why are you wearing sunglasses? Is something wrong?” 

 

Freddy was about to say something, probably a half-baked cover up for Billy, when he was beaten to it by the brunet himself. 

 

“Uh yeah, but it's just a migraine. That’s what happened earlier, I'm sorry for running out. I just couldn't handle all the lights, it was too bright for me, it hurt my eyes.” it wasn't an entire lie. 

 

Rosa got a soft look on her face and walked over to her newest son, placing a hand on his cheek and giving it a single stroke. 

 

“Well I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. If you need anything I'll be downstairs. Or just send Freddy down.” she smiled softly and walked away from the two, closing the door behind her. 

 

Billy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and shook his head. “That was weird.” he said, his eyes looking at nothing as he began to think. 

 

Freddy looked at him strangely. “What was? Rosa being a mom?” but then a look of realization came onto his face as the pieces clicked together. 

 

“Wait… was Rosa glowing too?!”

 

Billy nodded, confirming Freddy’s suspicions. 

 

His brother's eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously? What did it look like?” 

 

Billy rubbed his hands together nervously. Ever since he got rid of his compass he didn't really know what to do with his hands anymore when he was nervous. 

 

“It looked... orange.” 

 

“Orange?”

 

“Yeah like, a soft orange with a little bit of pink in it. I don't know, Freddy this is super weird.”

 

“I know Billy, but right now let's focus on getting your eyes back to normal.”

 

Billy gave the other a boy a confused look. “What do you mean ‘back to normal’?” 

 

Freddy gave him a blank stare, freezing. “Uh, well, your eyes are uhm...different.” 

 

Billy blinked and stared at Freddy. “And what do you mean by ’different’?” 

 

The curly-haired boy pulled out his phone and pulled up the camera in selfie mode. “Maybe you should see this for yourself.” he handed the device over to Billy who was reluctant to see what made his brother act so weird. But when he did he just laughed. 

 

“Freddy, I look fine. What the hell are you talking about?”

 

Freddy swiped the glasses off of Billy’s face. 

 

“HOLY SHIT!” 

* * *

 

 

The cafeteria was filled with shouting children and teenagers eating food. All of them clustered together and hanging out with friends as they laughed and talked boisterously with no consideration as to how loud they were being. 

 

And since there were so many kids, Billy was having the worst headache ever.

 

Every single student had bright colors surrounding them. Flaring or dimming depending on their moods but all of them still shining brightly. 

 

Some had blue, some had red, some had yellow or green, some had purple, and some had pink. But basically every single color you could ever think of, was there. And Billy was seeing all of it. 

 

He and Freddy still hadn’t figured out what had caused his eyes to do this weird thing or how to change them back, but it was driving the young hero insane. He still had to go to school sadly, he couldn’t skip classes anymore since he already had a record of being a truant, and he also had to wear sunglasses indoors. 

 

And no one wears sunglasses indoors! You know who does that? Blind people... and douchebags. And everyone knew that Billy wasn’t blind.

 

But on the car ride there, Billy tried his best to explain what was happening to his foster siblings, and they all took it kinda well. They mostly asked questions about the lights and why they popped up, but Billy couldn’t answer any of them. Except Darla, who mainly wanted to know what her colors were. 

 

Lilac purple and soft silver. She seemed happy with that. Then everyone wanted to know what their glows looked like, which drew an annoyed sighed from Billy, yet he still complied. 

 

Pedro had a subtle forest green and bronze kind of coloring, which was always dim. Eugene was primarily silver and grey with a few flashes of electric blue, Mary had a nice pink color which reminded Billy strongly of spring flowers, and Freddy obviously knew that his was like a sky blue with a few flashes of gold. 

 

And it was funny, because in that moment when he told them their glows, a thought struck Billy. 

 

What if these weren’t random colors? 

 

Because every single person in his family had lights and colors that just seemed to...fit. It fit their personalities and themselves, and it made Billy wonder, if it was really just random. 

  
  


Fast forward to the cafeteria, where the lights were burning a hole in Billy’s still gold eyes, he began thinking. And then Freddy sat down noisily next to him, slamming his tray on the table and startling Billy. 

 

“So, I’ve been thinking.” he said. “Everyone’s colors are different right? What if this has something to do with like auras or some shit?”

 

Billy glanced at him. “Say that again?”

 

Freddy took a bite of his french fry and turned to his best friend. “Well, you know how people claim to have auras or vibes or something like that? What if this whole thing is actually you seeing that? I mean, it makes sense right?”

 

“Yeah, I guess it does. But then if that's the case then why now? What is it even for?” 

 

Freddy was silent for a while, munching on his fries, when he snapped his fingers and looked at Billy with wide eyes. “Sivana!” he shouted. 

 

The lunchroom got considerably quiet at the sudden outburst. Before returning back to it's normal noise. 

 

“What?” Billy hissed under his breath, not happy with the sudden attention. “What does he have to do with any of this?” 

 

“His eyes? Don't you remember them?” 

 

Billy briefly shivered at the thought of those blue eyes. He could still picture them piercing into his soul. Wait…

 

“Yeah, I do. Do you think this has something to do with that?” 

 

Freddy nodded. “He was probably able to see magic because of his weird eye! Maybe that’s what’s happening to you.” the superhero fanatic froze as another thought came to mind. “And that also fits in with the aura theory!” 

 

“So...what you're saying… is that I can see auras… and people with magic.” 

 

Freddy nodded his head. “Yeah! This is so cool!” 

 

Billy thought about this for a little bit. Yeah it was pretty cool, having glowing gold eyes and being able to see people's spirits and souls, but it was really annoying not being able to stop it. And yeah, it probably could come in handy for when they were trying to find some magical villain or some shit. But still. 

 

How

The

Fuck

Do

You

Stop

THIS!?

 

The bell rang for class and both Billy and Freddy looked up at the ringing bell. Resigning themselves from lunch, they both got up and threw away their leftovers. (“Why do you keep throwing away your tray? That's such a dick move!” 

“Yeah well I feel like being a dick sometimes.”)

 

Freddy waved goodbye as they headed to their separate lockers and Billy didn't see him till the end of the day, when they all gathered to for the walk home together. 

 

They were all waiting on Eugene to finish up with his computer club, when all of a sudden an infamous black truck swerved around the corner and aimed to hit Freddy in the side. 

 

The Bryer's. 

 

Billy snatched the back of Freddy's jacket and yanked him backwards, the force of the action pulling Billy forwards and into his spot. 

 

The truck rammed into Billy and he skidded across the gravel sidewalk. 

 

The boy hissed in pain and glanced down at his leg, which was bloody and red, the pant leg torn from the impact. Billy grit his teeth. He really liked these pants and he felt guilty for Rosa having to buy him a new pair. 

 

The truck doors slammed behind him and Billy tried to get up off the ground quickly. He really didn't want a repeat of last time. 

 

And it was in this moment did Billy notice that his glasses weren't on his face anymore. The boy looked around frantically, keeping his head down to keep his eyes hidden, and found them by the truck's front wheel, smashed and cracked beyond repair. 

 

_ Oh no.  _ Billy thought. 

 

“Well hey!” one of the Bryers said in mock excitement. “Look who it is!” 

 

“It's Billy Batson!” the other said. 

 

Billy closed his eyes shut. He was NOT going to have the Bryer's see his eyes if it was the last thing he did. Even if it meant taking a beating since he couldn’t see. 

 

He felt someone grab his jacket and slam him against the cool metal of the truck, his head banging against it and a headache beginning to rise up. 

 

“What's wrong Batty? Are you too scared to look at us?” 

 

Billy shook his head. “No, I just don't want to see your ugly-ass mugs. Could you do me a favor and fucking breathe somewhere else, you guys smell like shit.” he said with a smirk. 

 

One of the Bryer's struck him on the jaw and punched him in the gut. The brunet coughed and tried to gasp for air. He could vaguely hear his family call out to him as he was pushed against the truck again. 

 

“You wanna try that again asshat?” 

 

Billy remained silent and kept his eyes closed, which apparently the brothers still didn't like. 

 

“Fucking look at me when I'm talking to you, you piece of shit!” 

 

“Don't talk to my brother like that!” Billy heard Darla scream, a tinge of pride and fear settling in his stomach. 

 

“Or what you little bitch? You gonna hit me?” 

 

Billy heard everyone audibly gasp and then a small sniffle. Anger welling up in his chest and boiling his blood. This jerk did NOT just call his LITTLE SISTER A BITCH!

 

Billy opened his eyes.  _ Fuck this shit.  _

 

He saw that the Bryers weren't even looking at him, they were staring at Darla and smirking. The boys anger was only fed at the sight, and he could feel the heat behind his eyes as the golden glow grew brighter. He vaguely registered the fact that the brother bullies had identical red and yellow auras. 

 

“Hey!” he yelled at them. They turned to look at Billy, their smirks vanishing from their faces as they stared at angry golden eyes. 

 

“OH MY GOD!” One of them yelled. Billy smiled, a sickening prank coming to mind. 

 

“Not quite.” 

 

He head-butted the brother holding him and kicked the other in the groin, watching with satisfaction as they both fell to the ground. They both scrambled from the pavement and took off in the opposite direction, forgetting their beloved car. 

 

Billy could feel the glow die down from his eyes, and he turned back to his brothers and sisters, noticing how he couldn't see their auras. 

 

A sigh escaped his lips. His eyes were finally back to normal.

 

Everyone rushed over to him, Mary asking him if he was okay and inspecting his jaw and Freddy going over how awesome Billy was. Darla hugged him, Pedro slapped him on the back and Eugene was watching him in awe.  

 

“Billy are you okay?” Mary asked. 

 

Billy chuckled. “Yeah, I’m fine Mary. Now those guys will think twice about messing with us.” 

 

Mary looked at him with an exasperated look and Billy smiled, despite the ache in his jaw as he did so. They walked back home, talking about the encounter and laughing, and at dinner Darla talked animatedly about how Billy defended her from the school bullies. With a few edits here and there of course. 

 

But that didn't stop Darla from saying “bitch”.

 

Billy went to bed that night feeling pretty good about himself and confident in the understanding of his powers. Even if he didn't know half of the stuff he was able to do. 

 

The following Monday, the Bryer's began spreading rumours that Billy Batson was a demon with glowing gold eyes who could look into a person's soul.

 

Nobody believed them. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was so much fun to write. Let me know what you guys think!!


	8. Bedtime Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darla is energetic and Billy is tired af. But a misplaced sentence sends the little girl feeling insecure about herself. Lets hope Billy can fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to write this. I needed some Billy and Darla bonding so you can fight me on this.

“Billy! Freddy! I need to be tucked in!” Darla yelled from the top of the stairs with pink pajamas and a stuffed rabbit. 

 

Freddy groaned at his sister’s shout and had to stop himself from collapsing on the floor in exhaustion. 

 

Normally it would be Victor, Rosa, or Mary who would help tuck in Darla for bed, but since Victor was working late tonight and Rosa and Mary were away taking a tour of CalTech all the way in California, that left Freddy, Billy, Pedro, Darla, and Eugene all by themselves. 

 

A true recipe for disaster. 

 

The boys, and girl, had to order pizza since none of them really knew how to cook dinner, and they kept arguing over which kind to get. Darla had won with her classic cheese pizza. Since it was either that or the vegetarian and no way in hell was Freddy going to willingly eat pizza with  _ peppers _ on them. 

 

After that debacle, Billy and Freddy low-key tried to take over things. 

 

But to be honest, the two fourteen-year-olds had absolutely no clue how to babysit anyone, let alone their own brothers and sister. 

 

So they both just let everyone do their own thing. Pedro did his workouts in the garage, unbothered, Freddy read some comic books, and Eugene played Fortnite and some other video games, while Billy started playing guitar. 

 

But then Darla wanted to hang with them. So she roped Billy and Freddy into playing dolls with her. And then she had somehow gotten control of the tv remote and switched from the Xbox station to Netflix, much to Eugene’s malcontent. Then she started watching some show called  _ Spirit _ based on the animated masterpiece of a movie, and they got into a fight so Freddy had to be the one to calm them down. But really it ended up with Billy and Freddy separating the two from each other.

 

And then Darla did some kind of craft with glitter and it had gotten everywhere so Billy had to clean it up while Freddy distracted her from doing another craft. During which she snatched Trashcan and dressed her up in a dress that the cat obviously didn’t like. Billy had to save his pet from the little girl, luckily he did so just in time before she decided to put makeup on her. 

 

“But she would be so pretty!” Darla had said. Billy shook his head and shimmied the black and white cat out of the dress. 

 

So to put it all simply, the two brothers were exhausted. Both Eugene and Pedro had already gone to their rooms, to either sleep or do homework, and Freddy and Billy had begun to chill in the living room, relaxing at last, except Darla was still going strong.

 

Until finally, FINALLY, it was Darla’s designated bedtime. She had gotten ready for bed all on her own, because she was eight after all, so she was doing just fine getting ready. But then just when Billy was about to pick up his guitar again and Freddy was about to start reading his comics, did Darla yell from the top of the stairs.  

 

“Uuuugghhhhh.” Freddy moaned. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” he whispered so that only Billy could hear him. His brother nodded along and leaned back in his chair, equally tired. 

 

“Who’s gonna do it?” Billy whispered. 

 

“Not me.” 

 

“What, no! Come on Freddy!” Billy begged. “I don’t wanna do it! Please will you?” 

 

Freddy opened his comic. “No. Absolutely not. My leg is killing me after chasing that little gremlin all over the house! You do it.” 

 

Billy whined in protest, but seeing how Freddy was too stubborn and actually wasn’t going to move, he gave up and set down his guitar. 

 

“Ugh why is she so much trouble sometimes.” he said to himself. 

 

He trekked up the stairs, feet feeling heavy on the plush carpet just as he came upon Darla’s room and creaked the door open. 

 

Billy found her sitting on her bed, sheets up and brushing her rabbit with a small brush. He sighed, trying to conjure up the energy for this one last thing, before walking all the way inside her room. He glanced up at the ceiling quickly and smiled lightly when he saw that the scorch mark was still there. Burned into the ceiling from all those months ago. 

 

The brunet turned back to his sister, who was sitting patiently on her bed and had given him a big grin when she saw him walk in. But there was something off about it. And Billy couldn't pinpoint what.

 

“Billy.” she said. The boy could make out the smallest tremor of exhaustion in her voice as she said his name. “I didn’t think either of you would be coming up.” she said timidly as she hugged the stuffed animal close to her chest. 

 

Billy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Why would you think that?” 

 

Darla cast her eyes down. “I heard you both whispering.” 

 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Billy’s shoulders dropped and his eyes grew sad. 

 

“Oh, Darla, I’m sorry. You know I don't mean that right?” 

 

The girl didn’t meet his eyes, opting for rubbing the rabbit’s ear gently instead. “No, I’m sorry for being so much trouble. I’ll try to do better.” 

 

Billy sat down on the bed, crossing his legs and trying to look Darla in the eye. She wouldn’t meet them. 

 

“Darla, what makes you say that?” he asks gently. The little girl continued to rub the rabbit’s floppy ear. 

 

“Well,” she began. “It’s just that I know that I can be too much sometimes. It’s what my mommy said before she left me; that I was too much and that she didn’t want all of the trouble. So I try to be better. I really shouldn't have done all of those things tonight.” 

 

Billy was silent, too shocked to say anything. 

 

He had never known why Darla was in the foster system, he had just assumed that she had been in homes since she was a toddler and hadn’t actually remembered her ‘real’ parents. But here she was, telling him that she remembered them, and remembered them telling her that she was ‘too much trouble’. 

 

‘Too much to handle’. 

 

Not wanted.

 

Those kind of words left marks on a child. Hell, even he had those marks. 

 

To be told that you were too much, it changes you in a strange way. You start making choices that you wouldn’t really normally make. Like eating less, making less noise, never talking, not asking for things like toys or books or playdates. You would do nothing and try your very best to be as low maintenance as possible, so as not to bother you guardian. 

 

And for Darla to go threw all of that, and still be left behind… that had to be painful for her. 

 

_ “You’re never too young for the world to throw bullshit your way.”  _ Billy remembered all of a sudden. It was a stupid phrase he had learned in one of his foster homes, one of his first ones actually, and there had been a grumpy grandpa who lived with the family who had taught that phrase to Billy, shortly before he ran away. And as much as he hated it, that old man was right. 

You are never too young for the world to throw bullshit your way.  

 

Billy placed his hand on Darla’s and she looked up at him, stuffed bunny forgotten and eyes just beginning to turn glassy. 

 

“Darla, that’s not true.” 

 

The little girl looked down, suddenly finding the bed sheets to be very interesting. “Are you sure?” 

 

“Yes, absolutely!” 

 

“But Freddy called me a gremlin.” she said, her voice growing thick. Billy laughed softly. 

 

“Darla he calls everyone younger than him a ‘gremlin’. And anyway that doesn’t mean that you were trouble tonight. And you don’t have to act ‘better’ because that’s just nonsense.” 

 

“You sure?” she asked uncertain.  

 

“Of course I am...Although, you were very energetic tonight. But that’s not a bad thing, it just means that it took me and Freddy a while to catch up with you. You're super fast.” 

 

Billy’s sister gave him a small smile and looked up, finally meeting his eyes. “Really?” she asked. 

 

Billy grinned. “Yeah, you are. Both as you and as the other you.” 

 

Darla smiled wider. Actually giving the teenager in front of her a real smile, before hopping up onto her knees and giving him a big hug around his neck. Billy having both expected it and readied himself for a famous Darla Hug, returned it happily. 

 

“Okay, now let’s get you to bed.”  he said after having enough of Darla squeezing his air pipes. She promptly let go and dropped down onto her mattress, crawling over to her pillows and snuggling underneath the pink sheets as Billy stood up and began pulling up the rest of the blankets on top of her. 

 

He handed her bunny to her and was just about to turn off the lamp and leave, when she made a noise that could only be described as pleading. 

 

“Billy,” she said. “Could you stay till I fall asleep?” 

 

He was just about to sigh again, but stopped himself just in time when he recalled what Darla had just said earlier about being bothersome. 

 

“Sure. I don’t mind.” he said and sat down on the small bed. As he waited for Darla to fall asleep, he lied down on his back and folded his arms behind his head, creating a makeshift pillow, with his feet still planted on the floor. 

 

The teen closed his eyes and listened. Taking in the sound of his sisters quiet, even breathing and the hum of the bedside lamp. A car rushed past and the lights from the vehicle flashed across the ceiling, illuminating the scorch mark once again and Billy breathed in deeply. Feeling content. 

 

Then, without thinking, he began to hum. 

 

It was a simple tune, one that was repetitive and calming and low, but it was a nice one. It was Billy's go-to song whenever he felt like singing, and he liked it. 

 

He continued to hum into the air, letting the notes hang and settle into the room, when Darla suddenly spoke, her voice slurred and tired. Nothing more than a whisper.  

 

“Wud you sng?” she mumbled. 

 

Billy stopped humming, the air silent, and tilted his head. “Sorry?” he whispered.

 

“Would you sing?” she asked again, her voice clearer but still hushed. Billy gave a small smile and leaned back on his arm-pillow. 

 

“Sure.” and softly he began to sing. Singing the words to the tune he was humming. 

 

_ “If I had wings like Noah's dove _

_ I'd fly the river to the one I love _

_ Fare thee well, my honey,  _

_ Fare thee well” _

 

And from there he sang the rest of the song. Smiling when he heard Darla's breathing even out and he looked up from his position to see her eyes closed and shrunken in on herself as she had snuggled into her bed. Billy stood up, careful to not wake her, and he sang the final verse. 

 

_ “So show us a bird flying high above _

_ Life ain't worth living without the one you love _

_ Fare thee well, my honey, fare thee well _

_ Fare thee well, my honey, fare thee well”  _

 

He pulled the blanket up to Darla's chin, tucking her in, and snuck out of the bedroom, grateful for the carpet beneath his feet silencing his steps, and closed the door shut. He let out a sigh of relief and headed down stairs. 

 

“Well that took you awhile.” Freddy said as he he saw Billy climb down the stairs. 

 

The brunet collapsed in his chair and picked up his guitar, loving the feeling of the strings and smooth neck in his hands. “Yeah well, she just needed to be tucked in.” 

 

“But that takes like 5 minutes.” 

 

Billy was silent, strumming tabs to the tune he had just sung less than a minute ago, before he spoke again.. 

 

“Well then she needed a brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fun to write. Let me know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions, im all ears!!


	9. Birthdays and Tigers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy gets invited to a birthday as Shazam

Billy grabbed his backpack and threw it carelessly onto his shoulder, barely finding the shits to give about the stupid green bag as his chest heaved in panic. He slammed the front door open and began to run down the street, mumbling the words “I’m late, I’m late, I’m late,” the whole time. Thinking briefly just how much he sounded like the little white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland as he did so. 

 

The brunet had made the mistake of staying up too late, doing both superhero work and playing video games with Freddy, so he woke up a little late for school. And by little, he means just over an hour.

 

Billy rushed through the house, doing his morning routine as fast as he could, he didn’t even bother to make himself some kind of breakfast. All he knew was that he was late for school and he couldn’t afford to be absent any more than he already had. 

 

He glanced around him seeing how there were no cars around, or how there was no one on the sidewalks. Billy didn’t have time to find cover, he needed to get to school quick. And what better way at getting somewhere quickly than becoming a demigod who could run as fast as lightning? 

 

“Shazam!” Billy shouted, and in the blink of an eye he had become the great hero known as... Captain Sparklefingers! 

 

In a flash, the newly changed hero took to the skies, flying low over the buildings and houses, his backpack still slung over his broad shoulders. He was still mumbling “I’m late.” under his breath as he rushed to school.  

 

He had nearly reached his destination, the building could be seen about a block away, when he heard a scream. Billy let out a groan of annoyance. Really? Someone was in trouble right now?! He stopped in mid-air, looking towards where he heard the scream and then back to his school.

 

“Red Cyclone!” a shrill voice screamed out to him. 

 

Billy rolled his eyes, thinking ‘Oh well, guess I’ll be tardy. I wonder if I have enough money to get an iced coffee since I’m gonna be late anyways.’ The brightly clad superhero spun around and dove towards the ground, zoning in on whoever screamed, and hovered above the air. Flying over a woman and her daughter, as he looked around for the danger. 

 

“Is everything alright?” he said in  the most heroic voice he could muster. 

 

The mother just looked up at Billy, eyes wide in shock and jaw dropped while her daughter was bouncing up and down with so much excitement and speed that it was beginning to give Billy a headache just watching her. 

 

“It’s the Red Cyclone!” the girl yelled, her voice shrill and chirpy. Billy brought a hand up and waved at the little girl awkwardly. Apparently there was no danger. It was just some fans. The kid waved at him animatedly and made a motion for him to come down. 

 

Billy rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the direction of his school again before shrugging. Whatever.

 

His golden boots touched down on the ground and the the teen-turned-man placed his hands on his hips, hoping to give off some kind of confident look. Billy could see the little girl was shaking with excitement and she brought her hands up and shook them, squealing at the sight of the superhero. Billy winced as the scream pierced his ears. 

 

“Oh my gosh! You really heard me! I can’t believe it!”  

 

“Well yeah, it was kind of hard not to.” he said before freezing after realizing what he had just said. He laughed awkwardly, hoping to brush it off. “I mean, of course I heard you! Why wouldn’t I?”

 

The girl just smiled, only excited because she was able to get her hero’s attention, and tugged on her mom’s jacket, eyes not leaving Billy. 

 

The little girl had a bright yellow jacket on and pink boots and leggings, her brown hair tied up in a braid and black eyes gleaming at Billy. 

 

“Mom! Mom! Where is it?” she asked. Her mom glanced at Billy, uncertain and shuffled her hands together, clearly anxious.

 

“You know what sweetie? Maybe we shouldn’t bother Mr. Cyclone, I’m sure he has places to be right now.” 

 

“But mooommm!!!” the girl complained. Billy raised his hands, confusion evident on his face. 

 

“I’m sorry but what’s going on?” he asked, still trying to talk in that super voice. It was exhausting. 

 

The mother huffed and the little girl spoke before her mom was able to. “It’s my birthday on Saturday!” she suddenly became timid, twisting her hair and looking down at the ground. The complete opposite of the excited child just a few moments ago. “And I was hoping you could come.” 

 

_ Oh.  _ Billy thought. He rubbed his hands together, a nervous habit of his since her gave up his stupid compass, and his superhero persona withered away. “Oh, I see.” he says. 

 

He didn’t really know what to say. 

 

But before he could think of anything, the mother took charge and gripped the girl’s arm. “I’m sorry if we’re being too much trouble Mr. Cyclone. We’ll be on our way right now.” she said. 

 

“But mom!” the girl cried out.

 

“When is it?” Billy said before he could stop himself, superhero persona forgotten. The girl’s black eyes brightened and she went over to her mom’s purse and snatched a glaring red envelope from it, her mother squawking idnignately. 

 

The girl came over and stuck her hand out to Billy, envelope gripped tightly inside it. The teen took the letter in his hands and flipped it, reading the title and laughing to himself when he saw what was written on it. 

 

 _You’re Invited to Sam’s Super 6th Birthday!_ It said in glittery pink letters, with superhero stickers all over it, ranging from Cyborg to Wonder Woman and a couple of lightning bolt stickers that didn’t match the others. It gave an address and date and time on it, and it also said to come dressed up as the hero of your choice. Billy chuckled mentally to himself as he thought how ironic that was. He was already dressing up as a superhero. 

 

“So you’ll come?” the girl, Sam, asked. Billy flashed her a smile and nodded his head. 

 

“Of course I will! I promise. Why on earth would I miss the coolest looking party in the world!” 

 

The girl gave a relieved smile and laughed, Billy slung his bag around and tucked the letter safely into one of it’s pockets, Sam got a confused look on her face. 

 

“Why do you have a backpack?” she asked, her head tilted in an adorable manner. 

 

The hero froze, his throat tightening up. “Uhm,”  _ come on, think of something. _  “Clothes.” he blurts out. 

 

“Clothes?” the girl repeated. 

 

_ Keep going Batson. _ “Uh yeah! You know, it’s my change of clothes. I don’t look like this all the time, I do have a-uh, job.” he rubbed his hands. “So it’s my change of clothes!” 

 

“Oh.” Sam says. “That makes sense.” 

 

_ Thank God. _ “Well, I gotta get going!” he says, wanting to change the topic, and he was also super late for school, it wasn’t even funny. “Gotta get to sch- work! Work. I gotta go to work.” 

 

He held up his hand a little awkwardly, waiting for Sam to high five him back, and she did so happily. Then just like that, Billy was floating again.

 

“Bye Cyclone!” She calls up to him. Billy waves. 

 

“Later Sam!” and in an instant he’s gone, heading to school at the speed of a lightning bolt and hoping to any god out there that his punishment wasn’t too bad. 

* * *

 

 

“So what took you so long?” Freddy asked him as he and his brother walked through their school’s hallways, limping along next to Billy who was contently drinking his iced coffee.  

 

“Well, you can’t blame me for being so tired from last night. There were three robberies you know. Three! Do criminals really have nothing better to do!? They do know that superheroes sleep too!?” 

 

“Well then that’s probably why they do it at night.” Freddy so matter of factly. 

 

Billy sent his friend a glare, eyes glowing gold briefly before returning to their normal moss green color. Freddy laughed and tried to push Billy, who stopped walking abruptly which led to Freddy nearly falling over. Billy caught him by his arm, and waited for him to catch his balance again before laughing. His brother joining in quickly. 

 

“Jackass.” Freddy mumbles beneath his breath and Billy shrugs. He’s been called worse, and besides he knew that Freddy didn’t mean it. 

 

Maybe. 

 

“Oh, and another thing.” Billy said. “I got invited to a birthday party.” 

 

Freddy sputtered. “For who!? You like know nobody.”

 

Billy looked at his brother. “Gee, thanks.” 

 

Freddy waved his hand. “You know what I mean, and besides it’s true.”

 

“...........yeah.” 

 

“So who’s it for?” 

 

Billy slung around his backpack and took out the red envelope, handing it to Freddy who read it curiously. A smile breaking out across his face. 

 

“Dude, this is awesome. Please tell me you’re going!” he gave the letter back to Billy who promptly put it in his bag again. 

 

“Of course I am! I never say ‘no’ to free cake. Also her mom wasn’t very nice.” 

 

A look of understanding came upon Freddy’s face. “Ah, so this is about showing up a strict parent. Gotcha.” 

 

“Well, half of it. But yeah.” they arrived at Freddy’s class at this moment and said goodbye, waving to each other as Billy departed for his French class, still sipping his coffee, and Freddy entered his algebra class. 

* * *

 

 

Saturday came all too soon as Billy hovered in the sky looking at Google maps, trying to find some way to make the stupid app work for people who could fly and not cars. But the teen had to stop himself from throwing his phone and opted for growling at the device instead.   

 

Sighing in resignation, Billy decided that he would just follow the car route, and starting the directions, began flying. 

 

It didn’t take long for the demigod to find the house, it was quite easy in fact, since it was surrounded with red balloons and white and yellow streamers and cars lined up and down the block. Billy touched down on the lawn and walked up to the door, his birthday gift underneath his arm, and knocked softly. 

 

He didn’t want to break down the door after all.

 

The door swung open instantly and Billy looked down, startled, to come face to face with little Sam, a great big smile on her face. 

 

“YOU CAME!” she shouted. Her voice at the same frequency as last time and she embraced him in a hug that could easily rival Darla’s. And if he wasn’t in an invulnerable demigod body at that moment, Billy was sure that he would’ve had all the air squeezed out of him by now.

 

“Yeah, obviously. I promised you didn’t I? Oh my gosh…” he said as he pulled Sam away from him and saw the costume that she was wearing. Billy covered his mouth and had to suppress an urge to cry from the cuteness as he saw that she was wearing a homemade replica of his suit.

 

Everything was perfect from the white makeshift cape to the cardboard lightning bolt emblem to the gold spray painted rain-boots.

 

Billy tried so hard not to melt into a puddle. It was too adorable. 

 

“Do you like it?” Sam asked. 

 

“It’s perfect.” the hero said, his voice choked up. Sam smiled like the sun before grabbing Billy’s hand and pulling him inside. 

 

“Mom!” She shouted into the house. “Cyclone’s here!” 

 

Billy was dragged throughout the house, ducking underneath doorways and looking around the home, he noticed the adults stare at him wide-eyed and open-mouthed and he offered them awkward waves with the hand holding the present. He began to wonder just how big this house was when finally Sam pulled him up to his mom, a smug and triumphant grin on her face. 

 

“See mom! He did come!” she said sassily. Her mom stared at Billy in shock, who was smiling nervously, trying to be polite. Her eyes trailed down to the gift underneath his arm. 

 

“You brought a present?” she asked. Billy’s smile faltered. 

 

“Yes. Was I not supposed to? Is that okay?” he asked, suddenly conscious of his decision. He thought he was being nice bringing a gift for Sam, it was a birthday party after all, but maybe he was wrong?

 

“Yes, it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting it.” Sam’s mom said.  The woman set down the drink she was having and reached out her hands for the gift, which Billy was more than happy to give. He kind of wanted to use both of his hands anyway. He watched as Sam’s mom walked over and placed it on the present table. But then suddenly he felt Sam pull on his hand again. 

 

“Come on!” She exclaimed excitedly. “Let’s go outside!” 

 

And Billy could do nothing but smile timidly as little Sam showed him off to all of the other kids. They were all playing in the backyard, doing some kind of superhero inspired party game, and all of their jaws dropped when they saw that the hero of Philadelphia was standing right in front of them. A proud Sam right beside him. 

 

Apparently some of the kids didn’t believe Sam the previous week at school when she had said that she was able to get the Red Cyclone to come to her birthday party, and they had made fun of her for it. Which made Billy all the more glad that he came.   

 

All of the kids had asked him questions, which he did his best to reply to, but most of them consisted mostly of his powers though, so that was good. One kid even asked if he was related to Superman, and as much as Billy wished that were true, it wasn’t. 

 

But eventually, they all started playing a game that they had somehow roped Billy into. And the most that the teen knew about it was that he was designated the villain, one that he couldn’t name, and the rest of the children were Justice League members. Although Sam had the exception of being him, the Red Cyclone. Billy still had to stop himself from melting when he thought about that. 

 

So for the next hour or so, Billy pretended to be a villain, only using a little bit of his powers to make the role seem believable for the kids and enjoying every moment of it.

 

And of course the kids absolutely loved it. 

 

It all ended when Sam and a boy acting as Batman thrust a sword (cough, stick, cough) into Billy’s stomach did he act out an over the top death scene and die. The kids laughed and screamed and at that moment one of the parents called all of them inside for cake and presents. 

 

Sam rushed over and ‘helped’ Billy up, seeming to have forgotten that the hero could fly; but the teen was more than willing to let the birthday girl help him up. And once again, she dragged him by the hand inside the house, but instead of walking, Billy just floated. Setting down on the ground once again when Sam let go and went to go sit by her friends.

 

Billy, being uncomfortable in a room full of adults he didn’t know, went and leaned against the corner of the dining room, watching happily as Sam’s mom brought in a lightning bolt shaped cake, with sparkler candles on them and set them down in front of the girl. His heart filled with warmth at the sight. 

 

Sam blew out the candles, and as her mom began cutting the cake, she started opening presents. She reached for Billy’s gift first, and eyes widening, the red clad hero zoomed over in the blink of an eye and snatched it. Nobody noticed except for Sam, who looked straight to the corner he was standing in, her eyes growing confused and sad when she saw that he held the present in his hands. 

 

The teen brought a finger up to his lips, and mouthed “Later.” to her, hoping the girl would understand and not cause a scene. Luckily, she didn’t, and had understood Billy’s message, even if she was really confused. So instead, she reached for the next gift and proceeded to open it. 

 

Billy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and glanced down at his present. 

 

He didn’t want her to open it in front of everyone, because it was a personal gift. He had gotten it for her for a very specific reason and he wanted to tell her why, and he didn’t want to explain why in front of other people. 

 

So he waited till the ‘last’ gift was open, and everyone had eaten a slice of cake, except for him, before setting down the gift. He was about to walk over to Sam to explain why he took the gift, when suddenly a small paper plate with a slice of cake was held in front of him. Billy glanced down in confusion and followed the hand holding the plate to the person offering it. 

 

It was Sam’s mom. An apologetic smile on her face. 

 

“I noticed you didn’t get a slice.” she said quietly. 

 

Billy glanced up at the woman, before hesitantly taking the plate, looking at the cake as if it was alien to him, and slowly he began to eat it. It was vanilla, and baked to perfection. 

 

“I’m sorry if I was acting harsh earlier. Both today and this last week.” the woman said. Billy swallowed his bite, finding that his throat was closing up uncomfortably  in nervousness. 

 

“It’s alright.” he said. The woman shook her head. 

 

“No, it’s not. I was rude. So let me apologize for it.” 

 

Billy raised his hands in surrender before turning back to his food. Sam’s mom leaned against the all, right beside Billy who stiffened at the movement.

 

“I was just,” the woman sighed. “I didn’t want to get her hopes up.” she admitted. “Sam has been through a lot, disappointment wise, so when she said that she wanted the Red Cyclone at her birthday party, you can imagine how I felt about that.”

 

Billy nodded. 

 

“She was so excited when she first saw you on the news.” the woman turned to look at Billy, whose mouth was stuffed with cake. “I remember her running around with a sheet pretending to be you and defeating that man who destroyed the carnival. Do you remember him?”

 

The teen gulped. “Kind of hard to forget.” 

 

The woman hummed and switched her gaze back to her daughter, who was playing with superhero action figures. “I suppose so.” 

 

The woman stood up from the wall. “But, what I’m trying to say is ‘thank you’. You have no idea how much this means to her.” 

 

Billy finished the rest of his cake and looked up at the mother before him. “I think I can get an idea.” the woman gave him a smile. “But really, thanks for having me miss…”

 

“Hannigan.”   

 

“Ms. Hannigan.” Billy finished. He walked away, trying to find a garbage can for his trash, briefly reminded of his cat, when Ms. Hannigan cleared her throat behind him. 

 

“Forgetting something?” she said. Billy turned around and saw that he had forgotten his present on the ground. 

 

“Oh right.” he shuffled back over and picked up the gift, embarrassed that he had forgotten something so important. 

 

After he had thrown his plate away, he went to the backyard, hoping to find Sam to finally give her her present. He found her wrestling the Batman-Boy and just had to smile when she stood victorious. 

 

“Hey Sam!” he called out to her. The girl looked at her hero excitedly and ran over. “You ready for your present?” 

 

She nodded, her head bouncing at the speed of light and giving Billy a headache. 

 

“Alright, hold on tight.”  he said right before her picked her up and flew to the top of the house. Settling down on a flat part of the roof so that the kid in his arms was in no danger of rolling off the house. She laughed in delight and sat down on the roof beside. 

 

“Can you always do that?” she asked. Billy shrugged. 

 

“Pretty much.” 

 

He sat down cross legged next to her and wordlessly handed her her gift. It was a small box with faded polka dots on it and a simple white ribbon. It was the best Billy could do on such short notice. He had to ask Victor for some money and he was barely able to come up with a reason as to why. But by some miracle, his foster father had agreed to him the money.

 

The little girl ripped open the paper, Billy cringing as he thought about ow much time it took for both him and Freddy to make it look nice. But oh well, she was only six.

 

She opened up the box and lifted out a plush tiger, it’s fur soft and cuddly. Sam gasped and looked up to Billy happily. 

 

“It’s a tiger!” she exclaimed. The teen smile and ruffled the little girl’s hair. 

 

“Actually, it’s a bit more than that.” he turned to fully face Sam and petted the stuffed animal. “Because you see, when I was your age,”  _ Like eight years ago.  _ “I wanted a tiger just like this. I even had a name picked out for it and I was so excited to have my own, one day. His name was going to be Tawky Tawny.” 

 

Sam looked at him with wide eyes, drinking in every word he said. 

 

“But, that day never came... I never had a tiger of my own. I didn’t have one that protected me from my nightmares, or one I could hug when I was sad or scared. I didn’t have a tiger to pet when I was lonely or one to talk to when I felt like no one else in the world would understand. I just didn’t.” 

 

Sam’s eyes grew sad. 

 

“But you see,” Billy said, trying to find the right words. “I got you this little guy right here, because I knew that if you ever needed someone to talk to or someone to hold, then he will be right here for you when I can’t.” he ruffled Sam’s hair again. 

 

“He’s gonna protect you from every nightmare you have and he’s gonna listen to every word you have to say. And if something bad ever happens, he’s gonna come and get me, the big guns.” 

 

Sam laughed and Billy smiled. The little girl gave the superhero the biggest hug she could, her arms struggling to reach all the way around the ‘man’ as she burrowed her head into his chest.

 

“Thank you, Red Cyclone.” she said, her voice muffled. And Billy made a split decision right then and there that he may come to regret later. 

 

“Billy. Call me Billy.” 

 

“Thank you, Billy.”

  
  
  
  


It was silent for a moment, before Sam snorted and pulled away. 

 

“What kind of superhero name is ‘Billy’?” 

 

“Hey!” 


	10. Mother's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its Billy's first real Mothers Day, with a real mother, and he doesnt know how to handle it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna wait till tomorrow to post this, but im just too darn excited! Requested by GreenPheonix3, i really hope you like it! And sorry, but i may have gone off course a little bit, but i still think it turned out well.   
> And last thing, theres texting at the beginning, but im hoping you guys can figure out who's who in Billy's contact. 
> 
> Really hope you guys enjoy!!!

_ The bond between mother and son is a special one.  _

_ It is the purest love, unconditional and true _

_ It is understanding of any situation  _

_ and forgiving of any mistake _

 

MONDAY

 

Mother’s Day. 

 

Billy Batson’s least favorite holiday. 

 

Because while it was a day for celebrating mothers, it was also a day where he was reminded that he didn't have a mom of his own. So he did his best every year to forget the holiday, can’t feel bad about something if you forget it. Or at least that was his reasoning. 

 

Which was why when he got a message in a family group chat, minus Rosa, he was utterly confused as to what they were saying. He had felt the phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out in the middle of the school hallway, with a few people grumbling as he stopped walking.

 

**_Victor V_ ** **_: Plans for next Sunday. Anyone have any ideas?_ **

**_Computer Boy_ ** **_: We can get flowers and make waffles._ **

**_Hero Manager : _ ** **_what about brkfst in bed???_ **

**_Caltech : _ ** **_thats so cliche @freddyfreeman. Lets do something different_ ** **_._ ** **_I was thinking we could go to the park._ **

**_Victor V : _ ** **_that sounds like a good idea. But what about gifts. I was thinking we could make presents this year. Thoughts?_ **

 

Confused, Billy began to type out a message and sent it into the group chat. Completely oblivious as to what they were saying.

 

**_Billy : _ ** **_im sorry but whatre we talking about? Im confuzzled._ **

**_Big Guns : _ ** **_mothers day_ **

 

Billy’s breath hitched. 

 

**_Billy : _ ** **_…. Oh_ **

**_Hero Manager : _ ** **_i think making gifts sound good. Hard...but good._ **

**_Victor V : _ ** **_Great! Remember to keep sunday open! No other plans. Got it?_ **

**_Hero Manager :_ ** **_yup_ **

**_Caltech : _ ** **_uh huh_ **

**_Big Guns : _ ** **_yes_ **

**_Computer Boy : _ ** **_got it_ **

**_Billy : _ ** **_uh, okay. Sure._ **

 

Billy pocketed his phone, feeling his fingers shake slightly and his heart drop. Make presents? For Mother’s Day? Those were the two worst things Billy had heard all day. He rubbed his hands together nervously and continued on his way to class, stumbling here or there as he thought about Sunday. The thought of making a gift lurking in his mind for the rest of the day.

* * *

TUESDAY 

 

“Hey, Freddy?” Billy whispered. 

 

The two boys were sitting in their rooms, Freddy reading a book on his bed and Billy playing some guitar with Trashcan watching, when Billy decided to talk to his brother. Maybe he could help the brunet come up with something to give to Rosa. 

 

“Yeah, Billy?” 

 

“What’re you gonna do for Mother’s Day?”

 

Freddy flipped a page. “Hmm, I was thinking maybe joining in with what Darla was doing. She always does good gifts, even if they are a little cheesy. Why? Are you having trouble coming up with your thing?”

 

“Yeah,” Billy sighed. “I really have no clue what to make. What do you think everyone else is doing?”

 

“I think I overheard Pedro mention something about a mixtape, but I'm not sure.” 

 

Billy hummed, trying to think of anything that that idea might inspire. He came up with nothing. 

 

“What about Mary?” 

 

Freddy flipped a page. “She'll probably do the usual thing and take Rosa out for a nice dinner or brunch. She does those kind of gifts.” 

 

“Yeah, well as great of an idea that is, I'm broke.” 

 

The dark-haired boy set down his book and strained his neck to look at Billy. “What? You serious? What happened to all of that money you got from being a douchebag? Did you already spend all of it!?” 

 

Billy shrunk behind his guitar and nodded. He really didn't know where all of his money went, but it was all gone now. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten that iced coffee last week. 

 

“Geeze man.” Freddy sighed, his voice unbelieving. 

 

“Shut up, Freeman. And besides, I'm glad to be rid of it.”

 

“Why on earth would you not want money?” Freddy asked confused. 

 

“It was just the way I got it. You know, being a douche and making people pay me for stupid stuff. In a weird sense, I’m glad it’s all gone.” 

 

The raven shrugged. “Whatever man. I still don't get it, but okay.” 

 

Billy smirked and continued playing tabs, having forgotten his original question. 

* * *

 

THURSDAY

 

“Hey Mary?”

 

“Yeah Billy?” the older girl replied. 

 

“What're you gonna do for Mother's Day?” he asked. Mother's Day was three days away and Billy still had no idea what to do for a gift. He had forgotten about it, surprisingly, until half and hour ago when Darla mentioned something about a Hug Coupon for Rosa. Then, he had that same thought that everyone had when they forgot something important...

 

_ Oh shit.  _

 

So for the past half hour, he tried to come up with something, but alas he still had the same luck as when he was with Freddy. But then he remembered what Freddy had said, about Mary being good at giving gifts, so he sought out his foster sister, finding her in her room doing some last minute homework and extra credit assignments. 

 

If anyone would know what to give Rosa, it'd be her. 

 

“Well,” she began to answer. “I was thinking of going to brunch with Rosa. There's this nice little place we went to for one of our first outings together and it's a good memory. So i thought that'd be nice. Why?”

 

Billy stood awkwardly in her doorway and began to rub his hands together. “Well, I just need some help….coming up with something.”

 

“Sure! I'd be happy to help. What were you thinking?”

 

Billy stared at Mary. “Uhm, nothing? That's kinda why im here.”

 

The girl gave her foster sibling a look and closed her books, giving Billy her full attention. 

 

“Well, do you want to go somewhere? Like an activity? Or do you wanna give her an actual gift?” 

 

“Eh, neither? I don't have any money, soooo I’m pretty limited.” 

 

Mary pursed her lips, thinking. “You can make her something.”

 

Billy groaned in frustration “Yeah, but I don't know  _ what _ !” 

 

“Okay, chill! No need to get all freaked out.” 

 

Billy ran a hand through his hair, sighing loudly as he did so. “I'm sorry, I just…I've never done this before.” 

 

“What? Make a present?” Mary said, a playful smirk on her face

 

“...Mothers Day.” 

 

The smirk faded. “Oh. Right” she said as she remembered...that. 

 

Billy's mom. 

 

And she made the connection as to why her brother wouldn't like this particular holiday. 

 

“I just… I don't know what to do. All the years i've spent in the foster system, I never had a foster mom that I  _ really  _ liked before and actually thought of as a mom. But now that i do, i'm just… i'm just clueless.” 

 

It was quiet for a moment before a slow smile crept onto Mary's face. Billy looked at her confused, his face scrunching up in a way that his sister found endearing. 

 

“What?” he asked. 

 

“You think of Rosa as a mom?” she said in a light voice. Billy's confusion vanished and he blushed in embarrassment, wishing that he hadn't said that otherwise he wouldn't be getting teased right now. 

 

“Kinda.” 

 

Mary's smile widened and Billy had to physically stop himself from running out of the doorway. He still needed his sisters help, regrettably. 

 

Then all of a sudden Mary stood up and walked towards Billy. 

 

“Come here.” she said. Billy's face scrunched up again, but not in confusion but in distaste.

 

“No.”

 

“Come on.”

 

“No.”

 

“Please?”

 

“No!”

 

“Pretty please?” 

 

“No.”

 

“Eh, too late.”

 

She pulled Billy into a slow hug that he reluctantly accepted, and rested her head on the top of Billy's hair, his face still scrunched up at the physical affection. He wasn't a huggy person and everyone knew it, but he tolerated it anyway. The brunet grumbled in annoyance and Mary smirked. 

 

“You'll think of something.” she said calmly, all teasing gone from her voice. “And Rosa will like it. Trust me, I know it.”

 

Billy grumbled again, still not happy with the hug, or the lack of help, but he prayed to any diety out there that she was right. 

 

* * *

 

SATURDAY

 

Mother's Day was tomorrow, and so far, Mary had only given Billy ideas where he needed money to actually do it. Like a craft or an activity or actually buy a gift. So that was kind of a bust, but it was nice to know that Mary was willing to help Billy if he ever needed it. He had spent the previous day racking his brain for any ideas, but alas had come up with nothing.

 

What were you supposed to get/make for the one woman in your life who you ever thought of as a mother? 

 

Billy had no clue. 

 

So when he had approached Freddy again about ideas, Darla said that he could join in on their Hug Coupon. But Freddy shot it down, saying that he and Eugene were already piggy-backing on that gift, and it would be suspicious if Billy suddenly hopped on too. Plus, they ran out of room on the card. 

 

Billy’s shoulders dropped and he mumbled how he understood. It made sense, because if four people out of six decided to do the same gift, it wouldn't be all that special. Plus it also meant that Billy would have to give Rosa a free pass at a hug, wherever and whenever she wanted. So maybe that was for the best. 

 

So he went upstairs to his room and lied down on Freddy's bunk, not feeling the energy to climb the ladder, and stapled his fingers together, trying to think. 

 

He could write a song for Rosa. But he didn't have enough time to figure out chords and lyrics for one. 

 

He could go get flowers for her. But again he had no money and he wasn't willing to borrow some from his siblings. 

 

He could make an appearance as Shazam and claim that ‘Billy’ got him to come wish Rosa a happy Mothers Day. But that'd be stupid and too much work to explain. 

 

He could make breakfast in bed like Freddy suggested a couple days ago. But Billy didn't know how to cook for shit. He fucking burned water one time.

 

He could draw her a nice picture. But that was lame and he didn't know how to draw. 

 

He could writer her a card. But he wanted to do something a bit more special than a piece of paper.

 

He could…...do something. But he couldn't think of anything. 

 

The boy groaned and dragged his hands down his face. This was really hard. He had absolutely no idea what to do and time was running out. 

 

He gripped his hair in his hands and stared at the bottom on his bunk bed. Hopefully Mary was right, and he would think of something. 

 

“Hey dude, what the hell are you doing on my bed?” the brunet heard Freddy say from the doorway. Billy glanced at his brother and consciously decided to be snarky. 

 

“I’m taking a fucking nap. What does it look like I’m doing?”

 

“Having an existential crisis.”

 

...

 

“That too.”

 

Freddy limped into the room and walked over to his desk, sitting down in the chair. He turned on the computer and waited for the old crappy thing to load. 

 

“Hey quick question. If you can turn into an adult superhero, does that mean you’re gonna have a midlife crisis when your, like, seventeen or something? Because that kinda makes sense doesn't it?”

 

Billy was quiet for a second, before sighing in annoyance. “Dammit Freddy, now I really am having an existential crisis. Why the hell did you bring that up!?” 

 

The curly-haired boy shrugged. 

 

“And wouldn't that mean the same thing for you too? Since you can use ‘shazoom’ too?” Billy asked. Freddy smirked knowingly and turned to his computer. 

 

“Well since I don't know when the middle of my life is, i've just decided to have an ongoing crisis. And so far that's working.”

 

Billy scoffed. “Weirdo.”

 

“Yeah, but it takes one to know one.”

 

“Shut up!” 

 

Bill picked up the pillow behind him and chucked it at the raven haired boy, who simply laughed at his brother. 

 

* * *

 

SUNDAY 

 

It was Sunday. Mother's Day. 

 

The day that Billy had been dreading all week. 

 

He had tried to come up with something, anything, for this day and for Rosa, but sadly, he had come up with nothing. 

 

So that morning, while he was laying in his bed staring wide eyed at the ceiling, the brunet made the childish decision that he was going to avoid Rosa all day. He didn't have a gift to give, so he'd just avoid her until it was time to go to bed. Simple, right?

 

Except it wasn't that simple. Because from the second Billy left his room, heading down to breakfast, he knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid this holiday. 

 

Because for one, there were flowers on the table, nice plates and silverware were set out, and a clean white table cloth was donned on the table. Mary and Victor milled around the kitchen, finishing up a delicious breakfast that smelled suspiciously of waffles and scrambled eggs. 

 

Darla suddenly ran up to Billy and gave him a rib-crushing hug, knocking the wind out of the sleepy teen, and looked up at him with a large smile on her face. 

 

“It’s Mother’s Day!” she exclaimed. Billy gulped, a frog sitting in his throat. 

 

“Yup, it sure is.” 

 

She withdrew from Billy and darted over to one of the chairs, sitting down and leaving behind a very nervous brother. The brunet felt a soft hand on his shoulder and he flinched at the contact, looking up at whoever it was with big green eyes. 

 

“Hey,” Mary said. “Were you ever able to come up with something?” 

 

Billy shifted his gaze to the floor, suddenly finding the wood grain very interesting and wordlessly he stepped out of Mary’s reach, shuffling over to his chair. He sat down and began to fidget with his fingers. Mary watched him, an understanding look in her eyes as she turned around and finished cutting up strawberries.

 

A heavy feeling settled in Billy’s stomach and suddenly he couldn’t think straight. He was panicking, because what if Rosa was disappointed that he didn’t get her a gift. Would she be mad? Would she be sad? Would she not talk to him? Would she become distant from him? Would she think that he didn’t care about her enough to get her a present? 

 

“Billy?” the brunet heard someone say, his eyes shot up to find Freddy looking at him funny. “You okay dude?” his brother asked. Billy opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, Darla screamed. 

 

“Happy Mother’s Day Rosa!” 

 

Billy turned to look at the dining room entrance, to see Darla giving his foster mother a hug identical to the one she had given him earlier that morning.  

 

“Aw thank you Darla! You guys!” she exclaimed when she saw the dining table lain with waffles, eggs, coffee, orange juice and flowers. “Did you do all of this?” 

 

“Mary and Victor did breakfast. But you’re other presents are coming later! We all came up with something to give you!” Darla explained, her explanation putting a sick feeling in Billy’s stomach. 

 

“That’s so kind of you guys. Well, why don’t we eat. This all looks amazing!” Rosa said. She took her seat up by the front, and everyone sat down. Freddy sat across from Billy, and everyone took their respectful thoughts. Billy briefly wondered when Eugene and Pedro had entered the room, but he brushed it aside. He had more things to worry about other than when his foster siblings came down the stairs. 

 

The family had been eating breakfast for about five minutes before Darla couldn’t hold it in anymore and she gave her gift to Rosa, sticking her arm out and putting the card right in her face. Rosa jumped, but smiled nonetheless. Taking the card, she opened it and read outloud the cheesy, yet thoughtful card. 

 

“ ‘And here is a free hug coupon that you can use anytime.’” she read. “Sincerely, Darla… and Eugene...and Freddy.” Rosa looked up from the card and smirked at the boys, who had a mockingly proud look on their face. They knew their ‘gift’ was cheesy, and they knew she knew they had hopped onto the coupon thing at the last minute, but Billy could tell that she still loved it anyway.  

 

Then she opened up Mary’s card next and gave the girl a hug once she had read it. Thanking her for the great gift of brunch, and smiling a bright and beaming smile. 

 

Billy stared at his food as he thought about how disappointed she’d be when he didn’t give her a gift. He didn’t want to be the cause of that smile disappearing, so without saying anything, he stood up and took his plate to the sink. 

 

“Billy?” he heard Rosa call out. The boy cringed. “Where’re you going?” 

 

He turned around and looked at his family, who were all staring at him. Mary with a pitying look in her eyes and Freddy looked at him worryingly. Rosa looked at him confused and Darla looked at him with light curiosity. 

 

Billy hated it.

 

“Uhmm-uh, I just, uhm…uh s-sorry.” he barely mumbled before rushing out of the dining room, darting up to his room, skipping every other step with his heart racing. He shut the door harder than he meant to, and groaned loudly. Burying his face in his hands and collapsing against the door. Sitting down at the base of the wood with his knees drawn up and his face still buried. 

 

Billy sat there, trying to even out his breathing and racing heart and quelch his anxiety.  He couldn’t do this. It was too much. He was going to disappoint her and he knew it. Billy glanced up at the room, his eyes drawn to the window. Maybe he really could avoid this day. All he had to do was open the window. 

 

But he abandoned the thought quickly. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t do it, because it was  _ Mother’s Day _ and he would never do that to Rosa. 

 

Someone knocked gently on the door and Billy flinched. He whipped his head around to the door and stayed silent. 

 

“Billy?”  _ Shit. _ “Billy  _ mi amor _ , are you alright?” Rosa was right behind the door and evergreen eyes widened in panic. He couldn’t face her, not right now! 

 

“Uh, uhm yeah! Great! Perfect!” he shouted all too quickly. 

 

The space behind the door was silent for a moment, and in that moment Billy’s heart began to pick up speed again. 

 

“Open the door.” Rosa said. 

 

“Uh…” Billy hesitated. 

 

“Billy,” his foster mom said softly. “Please open the door.” 

 

The boy ducked his head, and resigned himself. He wasn’t going to get out of this, and he knew it. 

 

“Okay.” he said. He stood up from the ground and dusted himself off before cracking open the door a little bit, a concerned yet stern looking Rosa on the other side. Billy went to go sit on Freddy’s bed and drew his knees back up to his chest. His foster mom entered the room and came and sat beside Billy on the bed, looking at her son.

 

“What happened downstairs?” she asked. 

 

The brunet began to fiddle with the hem of his pajama shirt and mumbled into his chest. “I- uh, I uhm… I panicked.” 

 

“Why?”

 

The boy was silent. He didn’t want to say why. 

 

“Billy…” she coaxed. Billy looked up a Rosa, a frustrated and defiant look on his face. 

 

“Fine, you wanna know why? I panicked because I didn’t get you a present!” he exclaimed. Rosa looked at him a little startled at the burst, but she still stayed quiet and listened. “I had all week to think of something, and I couldn’t come up with anything and now everyone is giving you such thoughtful gifts, and I have jack SHIT-”

 

“Billy!” 

 

“So, I panicked and ran out because I didn’t want to disappoint you. But you probably are disappointed already, so whatever… it doesn’t matter anymore.” the brunet could feel water well up behind his eyes, but he pushed them down. Forcing them to stay in his eyes where they belonged. 

 

During his rant he had turned his attention back to his pajama shirt, so he didn’t know what Rosa’s face looked like. 

 

_ Probably upset.  _ He betted. 

 

But the boy was surprised when he felt a gentle hand cover his, stopping him from fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He looked up and was stunned to see Rosa looking at him with kindness in her eyes. Her face was expressionless and Billy could tell that she was thinking about something, but he didn’t now what, and that kind of scared him just a little. 

 

“I’m not disappointed in you Billy.” she said. The teen had to stop himself from scoffing. “But I am sad that you would think that.” Billy cast his eyes back down. 

 

“Yeah, well, you know me.” 

 

Rosa gave him a small smile before the thoughtful expression came back onto her face, her eyes flashed with a look that Billy didn’t recognize and the boy suddenly became a little frightened again. 

 

“Actually, I don’t know you all that well.” 

 

“What?” Billy said, confusion and alarm in his voice. 

 

Rosa stood up and exited the room, leaving behind a very confused boy and returned with a coat, throwing it on his head. The teen froze for a second before swiping the jacket off of his head and placed it in his lap. 

 

“What?” he repeated. 

 

“Get dressed. There’s been a change of plans.”

 

“Okay? Where are we going?” 

 

Rosa got a sly smile on her face and she turned and left, going back to her room to get dressed for the day. “You’ll see when we get there!” 

 

Billy’s face scrunched up in it’s adorable confused look, before he glanced to his drawers. He sighed and got up.  _ Might as well. This can’t get any worse.  _ He thought. 

 

* * *

 

“Okay? Why are we here?” Billy asked when Rosa pulled up to a malt shop by the beach. Rosa turned off the car and turned to face her son. 

 

Earlier, when they were at home and while Billy was getting ready to go out, Rosa had talked to Victor and Mary and apparently changed their day plans. So instead of going to the park as a family, it was just Billy and Rosa having a day out and then a movie night at home right after. 

 

Although, why the woman would do this was beyond Billy. He would’ve thought that she’d want to spend this day with everyone and not just him. 

 

“We are here, because I want to get to know my son.” Rosa said. “You said that you weren’t able to come up with anything to give me today, but really, the only gift you could give me right now is this. I want to spend the day with you, and that will be your gift to me. Not some card or elaborate thing, but just you and me spending quality time together. That’s it.” Billy stared at the woman, baffled. 

 

“Deal?” she asked.  

 

Billy was silent for a moment, before a light smile flickered on his face. “Deal.” 

 

* * *

 

Billy and Rosa had spent the whole day together, and although Billy didn’t expect it, he had liked it. He liked it a lot. 

 

They started out with the malt shop, getting ice cream cones and milkshakes at ten in the morning. The person at the counter had given them funny looks when he served them their icy treats, he was definitely judging them for eating ice cream so early in the morning, but neither Billy nor Rosa cared. 

 

Then they parked the car and walked around town, looking at the shops and going into a few of them and buying some stuff. Rosa had gotten a couple of really nice candles and homemade jam. And while Billy tried his best to not be too invested in shopping, since he didn’t want Rosa to buy anything excessive for him, she seemed to read his mind and got him a shirt that he had been eyeing. 

 

“Wait, Rosa you don’t have to get me that.” Billy had said. His foster mom turned to look at the brunet, a smirk on her face. 

 

“Oh come on Billy, it’s my day. And this is my 'present' remember? So if I want to buy you shirt, you’re gonna get a shirt, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” she said. Billy smiled and awkwardly stood to the side as Rosa bought it. 

 

Then after that, they headed down to the beach. The bold blue sky turning into a shade of indigo and the clouds becoming a radiant orange. The water was calm and clear, lapping at the sands and rocks as the two walked down it’s banks, and Rosa made the suggestion of playing a game. Seeing how far they could skip rocks. 

 

It was a simple game that everyone knew how to play, but Billy was more than happy to go along with it. 

 

So they skipped rocks and played the game, with Billy winning and Rosa congratulating him by giving him her last rock. A weird looking green one with a white stripe encircling it. He had stared at it funny and laughed. 

 

“What an amazing trophy. I am truly honored to have this.” he had said sarcastically. Rosa guffawed and feigned hurt. But they both laughed it off and Billy put the rock in his pocket. 

 

By the time they got back to the car, they were both exhausted and their legs felt like noodles. It had been a very long, but a very good, Mother’s Day, and Rosa couldn’t stop her content smile from showing up every five seconds. 

 

This was one of the best days she had had in a long time, and she was beyond happy that she was able to spend it with Billy. Her heart swelled with warmth as she looked at her son in the passenger seat and she turned back to the road, while one of her hands came off the wheel and reached towards Billy. She brushed his brown hair aside and out of the corner of her eye saw a smile come onto his face at the movement. 

 

She knew that Billy wasn’t a huge fan of grand shows of affection, but she did know that he appreciated the small touches. 

 

They pulled up into their driveway and Rosa turned off the car. And they sat there in silence, just taking in the whole day and remembering it fondly before they both entered their home and life started again. 

 

“Thank you for my present Billy. I loved it.” Rosa said. Billy smiled and turned to his foster mother. 

 

“You’re welcome. I loved it too.” 

 

They got out of the car, grins resting on both of their faces, and walked into their house, bags in hand. 

 

“Hey! How was your day out?” Victor asked immediately once he saw them come in. 

 

Rosa set down her bags. “It was great.” she said. “Now what movie are we going to watch?”

 

* * *

 

They ended up watching  _ Up,  _ a timeless classic and one of Rosa’s favorite movies of all time. But when the movie had ended Rosa turned around to see that some of the kids had fallen asleep. Including Billy. 

 

His head had lolled back, mouth open wide and drool started slipping out onto the couch cushions. Rosa had to suppress a laugh, it was such an endearing thing to see. 

 

Along with Billy, was Darla and Eugene who had passed out in the middle of the movie. Mary smirked at her siblings and Pedro, expressionless as always, picked up Eugene and carried him off to bed. As did Mary with Darla. Freddy stood up from the couch, and looked at Billy, a snort escaping him before he covered his mouth with his hands. He turned to Rosa. 

 

“I’ll get him upstairs.” he said. The mother nodded and went upstairs, getting ready to turn in for the night and slipping into her pajamas. Victor joining her after he had helped Freddy put Billy in his bunk bed. 

 

Victor climbed onto his side of the bed, and gestured for Rosa to join him, but before she could she had to do one last thing. 

 

She went out into the hallway and went through all of the kids’ bedrooms, double checking on them and tucking them in if needed. She had just come up to Billy and Freddy’s room and when she opened the door, she saw that Freddy had already kicked off all of his sheets, his good leg hanging off the side of the bed. 

 

The verge of a smile tugged at her lips, and she entered the room picking up the blankets and putting them back on Freddy’s bed, as well as his foot. 

 

After that she looked upwards and peeked through the railings of Billy’s bunk bed, to see that the boy was out cold. And one of his blankets was beginning to fall off of him. 

 

Rosa went and climbed up the ladder a tad, just enough to reach over the railing and fix his blankets, and pulled up the sheet to his shoulder. Her heart melting at the sight of him looking so peaceful. She knew that Billy had had a rough life leading up to this point, and she was sad that she wasn’t able to be there for him when he needed her the most. But in a strange sense, it made her glad that Billy went through all that he had been. Because if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have ended up here with them, in this family. 

 

She wouldn’t have gotten to be his mother. 

 

And Rosa didn’t know where her life would be right now if Billy wasn’t there in it, and to be honest, the thought scared her. She couldn’t picture a life with none of her foster children inside it. So days like these...where she was able to spend all the time in the world with one of her kids, made her heart feel so full and warm. 

 

She gave Billy one more look, before climbing down the ladder. But her hand hit against the railing a bit too hard and a startled gasp filled the air. Rosa looked to the bunk bed and saw Billy sitting up on his elbows, his eyes struggling to stay open, as he tried to find what had caused the noise that had woken him. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Rosa whispered. “It’s just me. It’s okay, just go back to sleep.”

 

The boy didn’t do anything for a moment as he drowsily looked at his foster mother, clearly not fully registering what was happening. He finally nodded and lied back down on his back, curling into himself. 

 

Rosa reached over the rails again and brushed his hair aside in a soothing manner; she didn’t mean to startle him awake. 

 

“Goodnight, Billy.” she hushed. 

 

She climbed down the rest of the ladder, self-conscious of her hands, and stepped out of the room. And when she was just about to close the door behind her, she heard a low, hoarse voice whisper to her something she’ll never forget for as long as she lives…

  
  
  


 

 

“Goodnight, mom.” 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh, this turned out WAY longer than i thought it would. But it was still an awesome chapter that i had SO MUCH FUN WRITING! 
> 
> Comments and requests are always welcome!


	11. White Capes and Red Cloaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visitor comes to Billy's dimension and interrupts the hero's Day of Chill. When will he ever get a break from all of this superhero stuff?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a crossover, and ive been looking forward to it for WEEKS! It's been through so many rewrites, but this time i think i got it! Im not gonna say who it is though, you'll just have to wait and see! And I also put in some references to movies and shows in this fic, so let me know if you got em or not! 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!!!

You know, all Billy wanted was just one normal day. 

 

One that didn’t involve him turning into Shazam or dealing with some mystical monster or some stupid criminal who thought they could take on the Big Red Cheese. Maybe even one where he could attend the whole school day. 

 

But sadly it didn’t seem like that day was ever going to come on it’s own. Which is why Billy scheduled one. 

 

“Police scanner off?” Billy asked his best friend Freddy. 

 

“Check.” 

 

“ALL of my school books gone?”

 

“You mean the ones you didn’t destroy on our first day training? Check.”

 

“M&M’s and habanero jerky?”

 

“Check.”

 

“Doctor Who season 5 up?”

 

“Check.”

 

“Then let the Day of Chill begin!” Billy said with a grand smile on his face.

 

The two boys kicked back onto the couch, wearing their pajamas, grabbed their snacks, and began to watch the premier of Doctor Who season 5 with smiles on their faces. 

 

Since becoming the hero of Philadelphia, Billy rarely ever had time off. And the times that he did get to catch his breath, were always interrupted with one thing or another. Whether it was someone getting their purse stolen or Darla needing help with her homework. 

 

Which is what conceived the Day of Chill. Just one Saturday, where he could chill and relax and not care about anything that was going on outside of the house and do absolutely nothing. It was a great idea. 

 

But alas, it was going to be interrupted…. by Victor’s damn news channel that popped up all of a sudden, cutting off the part where the Doctor was eating fish fingers and custard with Amy Pond.

 

“No one knows where this mysterious figure came from, nor does anyone know what he wants or who he is. But all he seems to be doing if flying around the city and as you can see he his clearly searching for somebody.” the news anchor said as the channel showed footage of strange looking dude flying above the city. Wearing blue robes, yellow gloves, and a fluttering red cloak resting on his shoulders. Billy groaned at the sight of the man. 

 

“Ugh, you’ve gotta be kidding me! Now!? Today!? Are you serious!?”    

 

“Boys!” Victor shouted from the other room. “Is everything all right?” 

 

“Yeah, everything's fine!” Freddy strangled out. He turned to his brother and gave him a look. A look that said  _ get-your-ass-out-there-and-get-it-over-with.  _ Billy whined once more, before standing up and rushing out the door. Sadly setting down his beloved beef jerky. 

 

“SHAZAM!” He shouted. The magic word creating the lightning bolt that turned the ordinary teen into an adult superhero with the powers of the gods themselves. 

 

Billy took off, feeling the familiar electricity coursing in his veins and flying through the clouds as he sped towards the city. Grumbling the entire way there. He was sick and tired of getting his relaxation time cut short by some stupid wannabe villain or some shit like that. 

 

But oh well, twas the life of a superhero, he supposed. 

 

The red hero came to a stop and hovered above the city, looking everywhere for the strange man and calling upon the lightning inside of him to his fingertips. Shoulders tense and eyes narrowed, Billy was ready for a fight. 

 

He floated through the city slowly, glancing here and there for any sign of the man, but with no luck. Billy was just about to give up, when he found something. 

 

Or more accurately, something found him. 

 

“So, you're the new Champion.” 

 

Billy spun around, zapping lightning at whoever had spoken and clenched his fists at the ready. It wasn't too big of a stretch to believe it was the mysterious figure. Because how many men with capes and costumes flew around in large cities?

 

……….Don't answer that. 

 

The lightning bounced harmlessly off of a bright golden shield that resembled sparks, and before Billy could act, a gold and orange whip wrapped itself around his hand, cutting off the lightning. And then it spread to his whole body, enveloping him in a rope of gold. It vaguely reminded him of Wonder Woman's lasso.

 

“What!?” Billy shouted. 

 

“Now listen, I really don't want to fight. That's not why I came here.” the figure said, his face still hidden by that strange shield of his. 

 

“Oh yeah? Then why are you here!?” Billy yelled at the man. 

 

The shield flickered out of existence, and for the first time, the teen was able to see his opponents face. 

 

He was a man in his thirties, maybe forties, with ebony black hair slicked back and salt and pepper facial hair. He had high cheekbones and green-blue eyes that shined with knowledge and intelligence as they stared at Billy. 

 

And just like on tv, he wore blue robes, yellow gloves, and a red cloak, which was clasped to his shoulders by golden pins. But now that Billy could see him up close, he saw that he also wore a necklace that strongly resembled a golden eye. 

 

And it was giving off some strange vibes. 

 

The man looked at Billy, an emotion flashing in his eyes that the teen wasn't able to interpret, and he leaned closer to Billy, looking him up and down as if inspecting him. 

 

“I'm here to meet the new Champion.” he said. His voice low and serious. 

 

Billy gulped. He had no idea how to handle this guy. But before he could think of any ways to get out of the lasso, it disappeared. Gone with a wave of the man's hand. 

 

“Now,” the man said. “If you don't mind, I would like to set down somewhere. It's been a long day and I haven't had the chance to eat anything yet.” 

 

* * *

 

Billy hadn't said a word since meeting the new guy. He was odd, that was for sure, and he kept saying weird things like ‘the Rock’, and ‘this earth’, and ‘mirror dimension’, and it was all giving Billy a headache. 

 

They had set down on a rooftop somewhere and just when Billy was about ask whether or not he was going to get food, the man Hit the Woah and all of a sudden a glowing sparkly circle appeared in mid-air. 

 

Billy yelped in surprise and he stared with wide eyes as the strange person reached through it, HIS HAND DISAPPEARING, and then pulling it out with a hotdog in hand! 

 

“What the hell!?” Billy said. The man looked to him. 

 

“Oh! Would you like one?” he reached his hand through the circle again and pulled out another hotdog, offering it to Billy with sincerity in his eyes. 

 

The young hero, unsure of what to do here, slowly shook his head no. He wasn't in the mood to eat anything. The man shrugged and put the hotdog back wherever it came from. 

 

The circle disappeared with wave of the man's hand and he took a big bite out of his snack. 

 

“You know, it's nice to know that whatever earth you go to, there are still hot dogs.” 

 

Billy just stared at him, completely ignoring his own hotdog and watched with confusion. 

 

_ What on earth is happening!?  _ He thought. The man, seeming to have read his thoughts, lowered his food and wiped his mouth. 

 

“My apologies, I should probably explain who I am and what is going on.” 

 

“Uh, you think!?” Billy asked incredulously. 

 

The man gave Billy a look, blue eyes boring into his soul, before he sighed and walked over to Billy, the red hero following his every move as he did so. 

 

“Well for starters, my name is-” 

 

“No no no! Start with what the hell just happened right there with the glowy thingy and the sparkle fingers and the disappearing thing and the lasso shit and all of that other stuff!” 

 

The man huffed. “Fine. But also know that I have my own questions too that I want answered.” 

 

Billy crossed his arms and shuffled his feet. “Okay, like what?” 

 

“Like what happened to Mamaragan?” 

 

Billy's eyebrows drew together and his lip curled in confusion. 

 

“Who?”

 

“Mamaragan.” when that drew no reaction from Billy, the man tried again. “The Wizard.” 

 

“Oooohhhhh that guy!” the teen said, finally understanding. The man sighed. 

 

“Yes,  _ that  _ guy.” 

 

“Yeah, he like died or something, I don't really know.” 

 

Green eyes bored into Billy. “What?” he said in that low voice of his. Billy rubbed his hands together, suddenly feeling nervous. 

 

“He, uhm, he died? Or something? Actually I don't really even know! One minute he's standing right in front of me yapping about being a guardian or a protector or something like that and then-”

 

“Mamaragan, the Guardian and Wizard of the Rock of Eternity and the last of the Council of Wizards and Protector of Magic...He's dead?” 

 

“.......Yes?” 

 

The man dropped his gaze downwards, his eyes darting everywhere. It was clear that he was thinking.

 

“And you're sure?”

 

“Yeah! What else are you supposed to call it when someone turns into charcoal and then crumbles into dust right in front of you?” 

 

The man looked up at Billy, a resolved expression on his face. 

 

“Well then, if Mamaragan was able to trust you with his magic, then I'm sure that he must've thought you were a good person. Seems like he finished his quest.” he took another bite of his hotdog and glanced around, taking in the sight of the city. 

 

“I mean i guess, it's not like he had much of a choice.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Billy shrugged. “Well apparently some evil dude had released the Seven Deadly Sins and I was all that Mamiragon had-”

 

“Mamaragan.”

 

“So he gave me the power. Took awhile to get the hang of it though, I will say.”

 

The man's eyebrows drew together. “He didn't explain what your powers were?”

 

Billy rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I mean I guess he did, but I didn't really hear it. I was just struck by lightning after all so…” 

 

The man smirked. “How long did it take you to figure it out?” 

 

“A couple dozen Youtube videos.” 

 

“You made Youtube videos?”

 

“Yeah, it was awesome.” 

 

The man nodded. “So did you ever figure out that Shazam was an acronym for your powers?” he took another bite of his hotdog. 

 

Billy was about to nod and agree with hi. When he suddenly registered what he had said and stared at the man, mouth hanging open just a fraction. 

 

“I'm sorry, what did you just say?” 

 

“Your powers and your magic word. They're an acronym.” 

 

“Okay, but  _ how  _ do you know that it's an acronym and that the word was Shaza-.” Billy covered his mouth and cut himself off before he could finish the sentence. The man looked at him strangely, taking note of how Billy stopped himself from saying it. 

 

“I read about it,” he said hesitantly. “It stands for the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. Did you really not know all of this?” 

 

Billy uncovered his mouth. “No?” he said unsure. “But now that I think about, it makes a lot of sense. But hold on a second, how do you know all of this? Wasn't i supposed to be the one asking you questions?”

 

The man shrugged. “Fair enough.” he lifted his legs off the ground and sat criss-cross in mid-air, his cloak levitating behind him. “What's your first question?” 

 

“How do you know all of this?” 

 

The man sighed and looked around him, gazing at the city before turning back to Billy. 

 

“Well, you see back on my earth, I'm the Sorcerer Supreme. And it's my job to know every single powerful magic user and mystical being in the multiverse and whether or not they pose a threat to my dimension.” 

 

“Wait, I'm sorry, but i gotta ask. So you're saying you're from another universe, and you're some big all powerful wizard dude who protects dimensions?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“...” 

 

“So anyway,” he began, and from there he told Billy a whole bunch of shit that the teen didn't really understand. He mentioned a lot of the mirror dimension, which apparently is exactly what it sounds like, and he talked about traversing the dimensions in search of the new Champion that Mamaragan chose. Because apparently to an outsider's perspective, it was some huge ‘responsibility’ and ‘honor’ to be able to grow into an adult and have the power to take out street lamps. 

 

“Wait wait, so how exactly did you get here?” 

 

The man finished his hotdog and wiped his hands on each other. “Well to put it simply, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time and space.”  

 

Billy stared at the wizard, struggling to find any words to reply to what he had just said. 

 

“Oh,” he finally said. “That….makes sense.” 

 

“You didn’t get a word of that did you?”

 

“Yeah I did!” Billy said defensively, even though it wasn't true.

 

“Then explain what I just said.” 

 

“Something….about…….quantum…consciousness?”

 

The wizard chuckled. “Yes, quite basically.” 

 

“Well then explain to me the sparkly circus act then? What on earth is that?” 

 

The man’s eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head in confusion. “I thought you would be able to guess.”

 

Billy shrugged. “Well then you thought wrong.”

 

The raven-haired man sighed. “The ‘sparkly circus act’ as you so eloquently put it, was the mystic arts. My world’s branch of magic. Instead of your magic, which can be called upon on a whim or muttered with a word, my magic requires me to perform movements and hand gestures that bring it forward. It requires study and practice and it takes years of schooling for someone to become a master of the mystic arts. And even then there is still more to learn.” 

 

Billy’s face scrunched up. “Ugh, sounds boring.” 

 

The man’s grew an expression that said otherwise. “Mmm, I wouldn’t exactly call it that.”

 

“But why read words when you can do the stuff the words tell you stuff about?”

 

“Well you know, becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, preventing a dark god from consuming my dimension, getting kidnapped by aliens, fighting a Mad Titan, dying, and then being brought back from the dead five years later, isn’t as boring as you might think.” the man muttered.

 

“Wait what?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“So…” Billy began, rubbing his hand. “Who exactly are you?”

 

The man relaxed from his hovering position and set his feet down on the ground. “Now that is the million dollar question isn’t it?” 

 

He walked over and stuck his hand out for Billy to shake, and the red-clad hero gazed at it uncertainly. Billy reached for it, and clasped his hand with the older gentleman’s. 

 

“I’m Doctor Strange.” the man said. 

 

“Captain Thunder.” 

 

The wizard, now named Doctor Strange, what a cool-ass superhero name that was, looked at Billy oddly.   

 

“But just so you know, I intend to find out who you are, Captain. As I said before I keep an eye out for beings who may pose a threat to my dimension. Which means that this was not a social visit. And after what happened last time with the former Champion, you must understand why I came here and why I must know who you are. I cannot let such tremendous power go unchecked.” 

 

_ Oh.  _ Billy thought. He gulped. This man who had seemed so chill, had seen him as a threat and he had only come here to check to see if he was dangerous to his home world. 

 

Billy withdrew his hand and he scoffed nervously. “Uhm, uh yeah, about that. I’d rather...not. First rule of superheroing you know?” 

 

“Understandably so. Secret identities are important to have. But I must insist. This is no ordinary superhero situation and the power you have is more powerful than you truly understand. And for someone so new to magic to wield it, I must know that it is in the right hands.” 

 

Billy’s shoulders tensed, and he froze. Beginning to grow defensive and scared. And when Billy got scared, he got angry. 

 

“Well if you want to know my real name then i wanna know yours!” 

 

“You do, my name is Doctor Stephen Strange.” 

 

“But that's not your real name.”

 

“Yes, it is.”

 

“Dammit, okay, listen man I really don’t care what you say, but I’m not telling you who I am.” 

 

“I must know that the power of the living lightning will not be used for darkness.”

 

“Well sorry bud!” Billy exclaimed walking towards the wizard, lightning beginning to flicker at his fingertips. He stormed up to Strange and shoved an accusing finger into his face. “But I’m not saying anything! And you know, I was having a somewhat okay time hanging with you, and today was supposed to be my relaxing day, but no! No! Instead I ha-”

 

Strange thrust his hand forward, slamming it against Billy’s large chest, and Billy all of a sudden felt weird. 

 

He felt light, lighter than he ever had in his entire life. Like his whole body was filled with air and all of his weight had suddenly evaporated. It was also like he had been shoved through a thin veil of water, like he was emerging from the surface of a lake. The teen could feel the pressure of the shock on his skin, but it wasn't painful in the way that you might think.

 

“You….” Billy heard Strange quietly whispered, shock evident in his voice. The teen turned to look at the wizard, and was met with a very startling sight. 

 

He was floating above the ground, a good few feet above Strange, who was looking at him with those blue-green eyes of his, nothing too scary about that right? But Billy’s eyes were drawn to something a lot more terrifying. 

 

His body, his bright red-suited and gold booted and white caped body, was lying on the ground. 

 

Billy looked at his figure in horror and drew up his hands, gazing at them. He gasped and stared wide eyed as he realized that he could see through his fingers and that his arms shined gold and glittered. Billy looked through them to look at Doctor Strange. And then the boy glanced down and much to his surprise, saw that he didn’t look like a superhero. 

 

But instead, he looked like a fourteen year old boy wearing worn out pajamas with messy brown hair.

 

“WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!?” Billy screamed. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!?” 

 

“ You… you're nothing more than… than a child.” the sorcerer supreme mumbled under his breath. 

 

The boy glared at the wizard and flapped his arms in an awkward manner so that he was ‘standing’ in front of the man. 

 

“Oh shut up dude! So what if I’m a kid, what does that have to do with anything!? And i wanna know what you just did to me!” 

 

Strange's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for water before he finally stuttered something out. 

 

“I uh, I separated your physical body from your astral form. So that I could see your true self.” 

 

Billy scoffed angrily. “Like i'm supposed to know what that fucking means! Just put me back!” 

 

Strange stared at Billy for a moment longer, his cool resolve covering his face once more. “No.” he said. 

 

“What?” the brunet hissed. 

 

“No.”

 

“Why!?” Billy shouted.

 

“Because you are far too angry to talk to reasonably right now. And the conversation i must have with you requires you to focus.” Strange studied Billy’s face, making the teens anger flicker for just a moment, and before Billy could do anything Strange walks away, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 

“I can't believe this… he's no older than Peter.” he said in a low voice. Yet Billy was still able to hear him. 

 

“Who's Peter?” he asked. His anger still flickering in and out of existence. Strange straightened his back and turned back to Billy, the calm and collected look returning to his face. 

 

“No one. Just a, hero, that I know in my world.” the wizard walked back over to Billy. “How old are you?” he asked. 

 

Billy shuffled his feet and glanced back down at his body lying on the roof. The sight sending shivers down his spine. “Basically fifteen.” he said. Strange grunted.

 

“So that means you're fourteen.” 

 

“No, im basically fifteen!” 

 

“But when’s your birthday?”

 

“it's coming up in a month.”

 

“So then you're fourteen.”

 

Billy growled and averted his gaze from Strange's. The wizard walked over to the brunet, and surprisingly, was able to put his hand on his shoulder. Billy looked up at him with wide eyes. 

 

“Listen to me kid,” he began. “I don't know how much you know, but you must listen. Do you have any idea how big of a responsibility this is? Guarding the Rock of Eternity and protecting this realm?” 

 

Billy shrugged and rubbed his hands. “Moderately.” 

 

“Well, it's a big one. Because not only are you protecting this world's source of magic, you're protecting the entire multiverses source of magic. All of magic began here, at the Rock and on this earth. My worlds magic is just the branch of a tree. But this place here, is the root.” 

 

He dropped his hand from Billy's shoulder and gave him a serious look. One that saw beyond the kid and the few years he had spent on this world and looked into who  _ Billy _ was. It was the look you gave someone when you saw them as an equal and considered them an adult, the look that Billy had always wanted from someone who held some kind of authority over him but had never been given it. The kind that he wanted for so long…

 

He didn't like it one bit.  

 

“And I want you to swear, that you'll take this job seriously. For unlike many heroes, you didn't simply choose this. The Wizard chose  _ you _ for a reason and it must've been a damn good one, because Mamaragan wouldn't be impulsive about this decision. There's something in you that he saw that had let him know that you were meant for this. You're destined to do some great things kid, and that old man knew it.” 

 

After Strange had finished his rant or speech or whatever you call it, Billy stared at him, an unsure look in his evergreen eyes. 

 

“Okay?” he said. 

 

Strange nodded, seeming to be satisfied. “Good. Now, onto other matters… how much  _ do  _ you really know?”

 

* * *

 

Well it appeared to be, to no one's surprise, that Billy knew jack shit about guarding a magical homebase/lair. 

 

It was one thing to know that his lair was a special place where he had gotten lightning and adulting powers, but to learn that it was the center of all magic in the multiverse was another. 

 

“So, let me see if I got this right?” Billy said, still looking like a glittery teenager hologram. “My lair, is called the Rock of Eternity, that old guy’s name, his  _ real  _ name, was Mamarigon-”

 

“Mamaragan.”

 

“And he gave me the powers of six Greek gods to protect and serve this world and guard the Rock.”

 

“Well it's more like three Greek gods, one ancient king, a Greek hero, and a Roman god. But yes, that is the beginning of it.” 

 

Billy sighed, walked over to the edge of the roof and sitting down on its ledge, rubbed his eyes. 

 

“Well so much for a relaxing no work day.” he said. 

 

The brunet heard footsteps behind him and felt a body sit down next to him. As well as something cover up his shoulder, like in a hug. 

 

_ Is this guy seriously hugging me right now?  _ Billy thought. 

 

“Well sorry to break it to you, but i don't think such a thing exists.” 

 

The boy looked up and turned to look at Strange, to tell him off, but was surprised to see that  _ he  _ wasn't hugging him, but his red cloak had been draped over his shoulders. Billy scoffed and pushed it off of him. 

 

It instantly snapped back into place. 

 

He pushed it off again. 

 

It snapped back again. 

 

“Yeah, it does that.” Strange said. “Can't really make it stop though. Believe me I've tried.” 

 

Billy’s gaze flickered back and forth between the cloak and the wizard. “What? You're saying that it’s like alive or something?” 

 

“Oh yes. Very much.” the man slipped off the cloak and unlike a normal article of clothing, instead of collapsing on the ground, it floated it in the air. It's collar turned to Billy, as if it was looking at him, and Billy just stared. 

 

Then all of a sudden, unable to stop it, the cloak wrapped itself around Billy like a giant, red, self-thinking blanket. 

 

“Woah!” 

 

Strange nodded. “Yeah, it thought you needed a hug. There's no really getting out of that.” 

 

“What?” the brunet strangled out. The cloak really knew how to hug a person and not let them out of it. Oh god, please don't let Darla get this cloak, she would be unstoppable! 

 

“Yeah.” Strange looked out to the city and took note of how the sky was beginning to grow lighter and become a rosy pink. “Well, as much as it's been a pleasure to be here and to meet the new Champion of the Rock of Eternity, I really must get going. And i'm assuming you need to too.”

 

With a wave of his hand, the cloak unwound itself from Billy, allowing the boy to finally breathe, and flew over to Strange. Resting itself on his shoulders once more. 

 

The wizard then did a large hand movement and before Billy knew it, he was back in his own body. Wearing the stupid white cape, ridiculously colored red spandex, and pretty awesome gold boots and belt. He had never been so happy to be back as himself. Or an older version of himself. 

 

“Oh thank god.” he breathed out as he got up off the ground, noticing how stiff his back had become. 

 

“It was good to meet you Captain.” Strange said when Billy had finally gotten up. “And even though i know you’re fourteen, i also know that the living lightning is in good hands.”

 

“Uhm, thank you?”

 

Strange nodded and turned away, his hands moving up and doing that weird Woah thing he was doing earlier. The same glowy sparkly circle appeared again, and this time Billy was able to see through it. It led to what looked like a study of some sorts. Books and glass cases and artifacts resting everywhere. And the place pulsed of magic. 

 

Strange hopped through the portal, and landed on the hardware floor. He turned to Billy, a small smile on his face. 

 

“And just so you know, I plan on more of these visits. You still have a lot to learn about this realm and you have no mentor to teach you. So I will be back. It was a pleasure to meet you Billy.”

 

“Y-You too, Doctor Strange.” the hero nodded. 

 

Strange gave him a look and then waved his hands. The portal disappearing in a flash of light and Billy now left alone on the rooftop, staring at where Strange had last been. A thought suddenly struck him. 

 

“I never told him my name.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Yo dude! What the hell took you so long you were gone for hours!” Freddy exclaimed when Billy had finally come home. The sky had since turned from a baby blue to a rosy pink and he knew that he  _ had  _ to be in trouble. He rushed back home, turning back into Billy Batson a half block away and had run the rest of the way in his pajamas. Some of the neighbors gave him a weird look. 

 

He climbed in through the living room window, making as little noise as possible, and rushed back to the living room couch. Jumping over the back of it and landing beside Freddy, who was surprisingly still there. 

 

But watching a different episode than where they left off. 

 

“Something came up okay! I didn't think it was gonna take that long.” 

 

“Yeah well I had to cover for you. If Victor asks, you were at a study group today, that you forgot about, at the library.” 

 

“Study group, library. Got it. And hey you watched the show without me!?” 

 

“You were gone for hours!” 

 

“You still watched Doctor Who without me! Go back to the beginning, I still haven't finished the first episode.” 

 

Freddy groaned and picked up the remote, switching back to the main menu and going back to the first episode. A few scenes played before Freddy spoke again. 

 

“So what was it? A villain? A robbery? A team-up!?” 

 

Billy shushed him. “No, it was none of those.” 

 

The dark-haired boy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Well then what was it?” 

 

Billy looked at his brother, and then looked around to see if anyone was watching. When he saw no one and was satisfied with their privacy, he leaned in and whispered, 

 

“It was someone from another dimension.” 

 

Freddy lost his shit. His eyes going as wide as dinner plates, his whole body clenching up, and a wide dopey grin, bigger than Amy's crack on her wall, growing on his face. 

 

“What!? Are you serious?”  

 

Billy nodded. “Yeah! And it was pretty cool too.” the brunet thought back to his encounter. “He could do this really cool yellow sparky thingy and teleport stuff, and he could fly too and he had a living cape that gives bone-crushing hugs-” 

 

(Meanwhile in another dimension, Doctor strange got a shiver down his spine, and his head shot up. “Someone just called my cloak a cape.” he said) 

 

“-but he was kind of frustrating too, since he like, you know, wanted to know my secret identity and pushed my soul outside of my body or something like that.”

 

Freddy stared for a second, and Billy had begun to think he had broken his foster brother’s mind.

 

“He WHAT!?” Freddy screamed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, i know, i got a little sloppy at the end. But this fic already got WAY longer than I initially meant for it. So I just had to end it on a funny note. Plus, Freddy would absolutely lose his shit over something like this! And i mentioned that brief Dr. Strange thing about his cloak because it's a thing that Benedict does, he always corrects someone when they call his cloak a cape and it's just a joke he does. Its in an interview if you wanna go check it out.
> 
> Comments and requests are always welcome! I love you guys and until next chapter!


	12. Lightning From My Hands.....ish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy has the cold and another side effect of being the Champion makes itself known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun writing this and i hope you guys enjoy reading this!!

Billy had the cold, and he fucking hated it. 

 

The feeling in your nose where it's both stuffy and runny at the same time, the overwhelming claminess and shivers you get down your spine and the coughing and sneezing that racks your body every time you have a fit is just horrible.  

 

It was exhausting and it freaking sucked. 

 

Billy laid on the couch, blanket covering his chilly body, pillow behind his head, and used tissues strewn everywhere. The boy had his arm draped over his eyes in a dramatic way as he wished that all of this would just disappear and not come back. He would bet anything that Superman or Batman didn't get sick on their off days. 

 

Billy was beginning to think about how much he had taken his nose for granted when Rosa bustled into the living room, pulling her purse over her shoulder and putting her hair into a ponytail. 

 

“Okay,” she said. Billy dragged his arm off of his face and rested it on his stomach just so that he could see his foster mom. “Freddy's still home, so he'll be here to help you while i'm off at work. And there's leftover chicken soup in the fridge and ginger ale when you feel up to it.” she walked over to Billy and bent to place a kiss on his sweaty forehead. The brunet grumbled at the action but didn't recoil. “Get some rest sweetheart, i'll be back later.” 

 

Billy moaned in response and closed his eyes again. Maybe he could sneak in another nap before Freddy came out to check on him. The teen heard the door open and close, and utter silence filled the room. Well, not complete silence.

 

The clock on the mantle ticked. 

 

Cars rushed past the house. 

 

A train whistle blew in the distance.

 

Birds sang outside the window.

 

A song from a country radio played in the kitchen. Someone forgot to turn it off that morning and now Billy was stuck listening to  _ Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain _ by Willie Nelson. 

 

Trashcan's soft footsteps padded over to the couch, and Billy peeked out of his eyelids to see her fuzzy form sitting at the foot of the couch. Blue eyes staring at him and head tilted. The boy gave a miniscule smile and closed his eyes again, they felt  _ way  _ too heavy for him to keep them open. 

 

Billy had begun to sink into that limbo where you were in between awake and asleep when the sound of thumping came down the stairs. The brunet mentally cried at his luck as he was brought back to the land of wakefulness. He was  _ so  _ close to sleep, it was unbearable. 

 

The thumping sound carried on until it was right beside the sick boy, who felt someone nudge his hand. 

 

Billy didn’t respond, he knew who it was. And he didn't want to ‘wake up’ just yet even though his sickness had kept him up for hours prior. The person nudged him again, a bit more persistent this time, and yet the brunet still remained unbothered. 

 

The person thumped away, leaving Billy, and the boy allowed himself a small victory smirk. But that was short lived when a wet washcloth slapped him in the face. 

 

Billy jolted and sat up on his elbows, sputtering as he wiped the cloth off of his face, and squinted his eyes open in a weak glare. 

 

Freddy was standing in front of him, a proud smirk on his face and an air of smugness clinging to him. His normally neat and curly hair was unruly and wild, performing feats that Billy thought you'd need the power of flight to do and he wore his Justice League pajama shirt and sweatpants, and was holding onto his crutch sloppily. 

 

He had just woken up. 

 

“Morning, fucker.”

 

Billy groaned and laid back down on the couch, mumbling out a “morning, fucker.” as well. It was their morning ritual, the first thing they both said to each other in the mornings and there was no heat behind the words, it was just a sibling interaction between the two. And Billy enjoyed it. He never had a foster sibling to do something like this with and it was nice.

 

“You still sick?” Freddy asked. 

 

“What do you think?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

Billy nodded “Then there's your fucking answer.”

 

“You up to eat anything?” 

 

Billy grunted. “Maybe some ginger ale.” 

 

Freddy nodded and went towards the kitchen, his crutch thumping against the wood as he did so. Billy heard glass clinking together and listened to the sounds of his brother getting things out of cupboards and the fridge. Enjoying the good distraction from his stuffy nose. 

 

Speaking of which, he felt his sinuses tingle and ache in the way they did before he sneezed.  _ Oh no,  _ Billy thought just before he reached for a tissue. He covered his nose just in time and rapidly sneezed. But the tingling feeling didn’t leave his nose afterwards; so Billy kept blowing into the tissue until it left. 

 

But it didn't leave and Billy growled in frustration as another sneeze came up. 

 

He grabbed another tissue and prepared for it, but he couldn't prepare himself for what happened next. 

 

He sneezed, and just as he did so a golden lightning bolt shot out and struck the opposite wall from where Billy was sitting, leaving a large black scorch mark in its wake. 

 

Billy stared at the charred mark in shock, his mouth hanging open and his hands frozen. Freddy ran into the living room, a glass of ginger ale in hand, and glanced between Billy and the wall. 

 

“What happened?!” he exclaimed. Billy opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for water. 

 

“I, uh, I sneezed.” was all he could say. Freddy's eyebrows rose and he set down the glass. 

 

“You're telling me you sneezed and did  _ that _ ?” he pointed to the scorch mark, his arm waving wildly. 

 

Billy nodded, and felt another sneeze coming. “Shit.” he said right he before it happened, and another lightning bolt erupted, destroying a lamp sitting on a shelf. But this time, the bolt also came with a gust of wind, making all loose tissues and pieces of paper fly around. 

 

Freddy stared at the mess, his reaction a mirroring Billy's, and cussed loudly. “ Holy shit!” 

 

* * *

 

Trying to get Billy to stop sneezing and destroying the house, was a lot harder than Freddy thought it'd be. 

 

So far his foster brother destroyed a lamp, smashed a vase, blown paper everywhere, nearly burned down a curtain, and singed Trashcan's fur. Oh, and he nearly hit Freddy a dozen times too. 

 

Eventually, they went to the backyard, where there would be no immediate danger if Billy started a fire or an explosion, and if so they could just spray it with the hose. 

 

“Okay,” Freddy said, looking at his brother who stood next to him, skin pale and nose red with a blanket wrapped around him. “We should be good out here.” 

 

Billy groaned, “Freddy, i wanna go to bed.” 

 

“No! Not until you learn to freaking control this.” 

 

“How am i supposed to stop sneezing!?” 

 

Freddy shook his head, “That's not what i'm saying. I'm saying you can go back inside when you learn how to control this! You weren't shooting lightning bolts out of your nose yesterday! Which means that this isn't an involuntary reaction.” 

 

Billy just stared his brother. And then he sneezed again, electricity shooting out of his nose and striking the ground at Freddy's feet. The disabled teen yelped and jumped away from the now blackened ground. 

 

After the smoke cleared away, he gestured dramatically to the charred ground. 

 

“Freddy, i'm really not up for filming your superhero diaries right now. Can’t i just go inside?” 

 

“Okay first of all, they are not diaries and are more like documentaries. Secondly, i'm not filming you at all! And thirdly......actually no that's about it.” 

 

Billy groaned. 

 

“But my point is that you can stop this. Okay? So just focus and stop shooting lightning out of your nostrils.” Freddy finished, looking expectantly at Billy. The sick teen lightly glared at his brother. 

 

He was definitely not in the mood for this. All he wanted to do was fall onto the soft couch, watch tv, and maybe pass out for a good fourteen hours. But no, Freddy just insisted on trying to figure this whole stupid thing out. 

 

And yeah, he understood  _ why,  _ but  _ WHY!?  _

 

Suddenly, Billy felt a tingling sensation on his hands, and no longer behind his sinuses. He glanced down at his fingers and his face scrunched up. 

 

_ What the hell?  _ He thought just as sparks flew from his fingers, bouncing between his hands and fingertips. 

 

“Woah!” Billy exclaimed. He sneezed again, and another lightning bolt scorched the ground. The force of the bolt pushing Billy backwards and onto the ground. His blanket was singed and smelled faintly of ozone as he lied on the soft grass. His hands still sparkled with the golden electricity for a second longer before fizzling out of existence. 

 

Billy could hear Freddy laughing and whooping from where he was lying on the ground. “Electrokinesis! Dude! You can still use electricity manipulation even when you aren't Captain Sparkle-fingers! This is so cool.” 

 

Billy groaned and sat up stiffly. “Yeah, well it'd probably be cooler if I wasn't so sick and tired right now.” 

 

“Well, right yeah of course, but still! The point still stands. Can you imagine all of the cool-ass shit we can do with this power!?” A look came over Freddy's face. “We could electrocute the Bryers! They'd never see it coming and it'll be so awesome.”

 

“Freddy?” 

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Shut the fuck up.”

 

* * *

 

Once they came back inside, it took the two boys about half an hour to find a way to cover up the scorch marks. It had taken a while to figure out what to do for the first one, since it was so big, but they decided that it'd be best to just cover it with a picture and hope that no one moved it until they graduated and moved into their own place. 

 

That shouldn't be a problem. 

 

And that night, when Billy was snuggling into a new, dry blanket, and watching tv, he thought back to earlier and pulled out his hand from the blanket and just stared at it. 

 

The tingling feeling in his body had since left,  _ finally,  _ and Freddy still rambled on about how they would have to find a way to hone this skill for Billy to use every day. And even though Billy made it seem like he didn't care, he did have to admit that it was pretty damn cool. 

 

He just didn't show it earlier because he was sick and of course exhausted. So obviously he wasn't in the mood for Freddy's excitable rants. 

 

Billy looked at his hand, and focussed, the tingly pins and needles feeling slowly coming forward. And then suddenly, the golden sparks flared again. The small sparks bounced between his fingers and seemed to dance across his hand and the brunet smiled and watched his creation fizzle. 

 

He watched his hand for a few minutes when all of a sudden he heard footsteps clamber down the stairs. Billy whipped his head around to see who it was, but he saw no one and quickly turned back to his hand. Willing the lightning to stop. 

 

The tingly feeling began to reside, but it wasn't fast enough. The teen shook his hand and flung it around, trying to shake off the sparks before anyone saw them. 

 

But the motion was a mistake and the moment Billy flicked his wrist, a tiny lightning bolt shot from his hand and struck the coffee table, creating another scorch mark. But at least the sparks were gone from his hand!

 

“Billy?” someone called from behind him. It was Rosa. The brunet cursed under his breath and tried to find anything to cover up the mark he had made. 

 

And thank God for magazines. 

 

Billy covered up the mark just when Rosa came into the living room and looked around suspiciously. 

 

“Did you hear something?” she asked. Billy shook his head and played an innocent look on his face. 

 

“Nope.” he said. 

 

“Huh, i could've sworn i heard something.” she muttered as she walked into the kitchen. Billy let out a sigh of relief before turning to look at his hand. 

 

This was going to be harder than he thought. 

 

* * *

 

Even later that night: “Hey Freddy do you know where my lamp went? The one sitting on the shelf?” Rosa asked.

 

Freddy hid his face behind his comic book. “No.” he squeaked out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think and requests are always welcome!!!


	13. Carts and Crutches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bryers steal Freddys crutch, so the two foster brothers have to improvise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This probably isnt one of my best fics, but i had fun writing the idea. And thats all fanfiction is right? Having fun writing your ideas? Anyway, this chapter was inspired by something me and my sister do, so enjoy!

“You gotta be  _ fucking  _ kidding me!” Freddy shouted to the sky, much to the shock of a pair of old ladies walking on the other side of the street. 

 

Freddy glared at the two boys running down the sidewalk, the fucking shitheads who had stolen his crutch, and glared at the pair. Wishing that he had telekinesis or at least Billy's electrokinesis so that he could blow them up. 

 

The Breyers were still salty about that one lunch period where they had Superman over, and had decided to pull off the “prank” that they always eventually did. 

 

So you see, while the two foster brothers were walking home from school talking about the things that they always talked about, the Bryer's had ambushed them and taken the crutch. 

 

Freddy fell to the ground, his leg protesting in pain.

 

Someone groaned as they regained consciousness and Billy sat up, looking around blearily. His legs shook as he tried to stand up and his hand went to his head as he tried to calm down the swirling inside of it. 

 

“Ugh, what happened?” the brunet slurred. The last thing he remembered was walking home from school with Freddy and then something hitting him in the back of his head.

 

After that? Nothing. 

 

“The damn Breyers fucking stole my crutch!” 

 

“Wait what?” Billy said, finally finding something to focus on instead of the pounding in his head. They stole his what?

 

“Yeah! And it was my last one too!” Freddy exclaimed from his position on the ground. 

 

He was sitting on the pavement with his good leg tucked up to him and the other one sprawled out with his arms waving wildly. It looked like he was stretching and dancing at the same time in the middle of the sidewalk. 

 

Billy walked over to his brother, his head clearing up and his legs becoming sturdier as he did so. He took Freddy's hand and managed to get him up, so that he was standing on his good leg and leaning against Billy’s side with his arm thrown over his shoulders. 

 

“You have more than one crutch?” he asked. Freddy sighed exasperatedly. 

 

“Well not anymore! I used to have three of those, but guess what happened to them!” he pointed down the street in the direction they ran. “THE FUCKING BREYERS!” 

 

“Excuse me, young man?” one of the old ladies from earlier said. When did they cross the road and walk over to them? 

 

“Would you mind keeping that voice of yours down? It's very unsettling to hear someone so young say words too old for them.” 

 

Freddy scoffed. “Well excuse-fucking-me, but I don't really give a rats ass what you think. So if I wanna motherfucking swear? I'm gonna motherfucking swear.” 

 

The woman gasped and a steely look flashed in her eyes. 

 

“Gee whiz, I'm sorry ma'am.” Billy said quickly, donning his innocent-child disguise. “My brother's just been having a very bad day and someone has just stolen his crutch! I'm sure a lovely woman like you can understand why that'd make him angry. He usually never swears and he’s a good kid. But I'm sorry for bothering you ma'am and we'll just be on our way.” 

 

The lady huffed, looking content with Billy's reaction, and turned to Freddy. 

 

“You should learn from your friend here. At least  _ he  _ still knows how to be respectful to adults.” 

 

Freddy suppressed a snort and silently nodded his head, not trusting his voice. The woman nodded firmly and turned to walk back to her friend, leaving the two boys behind. 

 

Once they were out of hearing range, Freddy started laughing.

 

“Dude! What the hell was that?! That was so weird, i've never seen you act like  that before!” 

 

Billy shrugged. “Yeah well, after living on the streets for as long as I have, you learn the three basic factors about how to avoid adults. Innocence, compliments, and getting out of the way. After you get that down, the rest is easy.” 

 

Freddy chuckled. “So how are we gonna get me home without the crutch?” 

 

Billy hummed. “Well what if i turned into Shazoom and just carried you back?” 

 

“Dude no! I ain't gonna be carried bridal style to my house. Plus people will think that i was being abducted.”

 

“Yeah, that's a good point. Well do you have any ideas?”

 

Freddy shook his head and looked down while Billy gazed around, hoping to find a stick or something of the sort to help Freddy walk home. He was about to give up  when his green eyes glanced over a familiar looking plastic and metal object. 

 

The boy smiled and turned to his brother. 

 

“Hey, what about that?” he said as he pointed to it. Freddy's eyes widened a fraction and he guffawed. 

 

“Are you serious?” he asked, his heart fluttering nervously. Billy shrugged. It was the best option they had. The curly-haired boy shook his head and laughed.  

 

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” 

 

“Afraid not.” 

 

Freddy screwed up his face and narrowed his eyes, glaring at the thing. He didn't like it one bit. “Fine. But this is a one time thing. And we ditch it half a block from home so that Rosa doesn't see it. She'll freak out if she does.”

 

“Fair enough.” Billy shifted his grip on his brother so that he was holding him a bit more comfortably. “Let's go then.”

 

* * *

 

Freddy sat in the grocery shopping cart with his arms crossed and lips pouting while Billy had the dopiest grin on his face and pulled him along from the front. 

 

This was the best thing he's done all day and it was hilarious.

 

“I hate this.” Freddy grumbled. He didn't like the feeling of being a helpless baby in a baby stroller, and yet here he was. 

 

“I know you do.” said Billy as he took out his phone and took a selfie. Freddy looking like a grouch in the photo.  

 

“Seriously?!” 

 

“Yup.” 

 

Freddy groaned and hung his head. The cart rattling along as it rolled across the bumpy pavement and jolted Freddy. The boy hissed in pain, seeing as it hurt his leg, and glared at Billy. 

 

“Sorry.” the brunet muttered. 

 

They continued down their path for a couple of minutes before their surroundings started to look achingly familiar. 

 

“Okay, that's it. Get me out.” Freddy said, already gripping the side of the shopping cart. Billy stopped pulling and came around, wrapping an arm underneath Freddy's shoulders and the other under his knee. 

 

“You ready?” Billy asked. The raven had an apprehensive look on his face. It had hurt him getting into the cart and it sure as hell was going to hurt him when he got out. Freddy mentally prepared himself for the discomfort and nodded his head. 

 

“Okay. On three. One.. two.. three!” he hoisted the other boy out of the shopping cart and Freddy, much to his dismay, couldn't help but cry out in pain when his bad leg was jostled. Billy instantly set his good foot on the ground and held onto Freddy, helping his brother keep his balance. 

 

The curly-haired boy was panting heavily and gripped onto Billy's jacket a bit too tight. He hated it when his leg bothered him more than usual and those days always sucked the most. 

 

“You good?” Freddy heard his brother say. The boy nodded mutely. He didn't expect that getting out would  hurt  _ way _ more than getting in. 

 

“Alright. Let's go home then. We aren't too far.” 

 

And together they began to ‘walk’ down the street towards their house, trying to find a comfortable rhythm with their steps, but failing miserably. It was too choppy and too rough for Freddy’s leg and he kept hissing in pain on every other step.

 

Then finally, when Freddy was able to bear the discomfort, he thought it best to apologize. 

 

“I’m sorry.” he said angrily. Billy looked at him, baffled. 

 

“What are you sorry for?” 

 

Freddy waved his hand. “Just...nothing. And everything. For some reason I feel like I should be apologizing or whatever.” 

 

Billy scoffed. “Freddy that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for!”   

 

“Well, I can’t help it! It’s my damn fault you’re here anyway.” he mumbled the last part and turned his head away from Billy in an attempt to hide it, but the thing about leaning on a person is that you tend to be close enough to hear everything the other says.

 

“I’m sorry what? Why do you say it’s your fault?”

 

Freddy huffed. “Well, if it wasn’t for my leg, I wouldn’t need the crutch, if I didn’t need the crutch, then the Breyer’s wouldn’t take it, if the Breyer’s didn’t take it then we wouldn’t be in this damn situation right now and we wouldn’t be late to get home. So yeah, it’s my fault.” 

 

Billy sighed as they continued to limp along. “Freddy that’s dumb. And come on we’re almost home.”

 

“But it’s true!” 

 

“No, it’s not true. Because even if you didn’t have the crutch, the Breyers would still be dicks and they’d still bully us. So shut the fuck up and let’s get home. We’re almost there anyway.”

 

Freddy huffed in annoyance, feeling like he wasn't being heard and that he was just being ignored. He felt heat rise up inside of him as he grew frustrated. 

 

He knew that Billy didn't mean it, that he was trying to be a good brother and tell him that his doubts were not true, but Freddy couldn't help it. Having anxiety always sucked when you felt like you should've done better or you should've done something differently in order to prevent another thing.

 

Freddy stopped walking. 

 

Billy tripped on his feet and almost tipped both of them over, which would have led to both of them sprawled on the ground. But thanks to his quick reflexes, neither of them fell. He looked up at Freddy and gave him a glare. 

 

“What the hell man!” 

 

Freddy instantly felt guilty but didn't back down, however he wouldn't meeting Billy’s evergreen eyes as he grumbled a “Sorry. Let's just get home.” 

 

“No, wait, hold on. Freddy… what’s wrong?” Billy said as he sensed something off about the air between them.

 

The curly-haired boy shook his head. “It's nothing. Just leave it.” 

 

Billy scoffed, “Well that's clearly a lie. Because something is obviously bothering you.” 

 

Freddy pressed his lips together into a thin line and looked up at Billy. “Well, you know, i just don't like feeling like im deadweight, and right now it pretty much feels that way. Like with the cart and the limping home, and the fact that you just kinda brushed me aside-”

 

“Freddy,” 

 

“And you know, anxiety is a thing, so there's that, so i'm just kinda really done and i feel like i'm invisible again so-”

 

“Freddy!” Billy exclaimed. The raven haired boy shut up and met his siblings eyes, which looked at him with worry and concern. The brunet shook his head and held onto his brother to keep him steady as he spoke. 

 

“I….I dont…” he said before he sighed. “I don't know what to say. But, i'm sorry that i made you feel like that and, Freddy, it just isn't true.”

 

They continued their walk, finishing their trek home. “I'll admit. I don't really know what to say in these kind of situations, but i will be here. Sorry about the shopping cart, if it made you feel bad then im sorry about it.”

 

Freddy took in a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm his palpitating heart and persisting anger. “It's… it's fine. It was... actually a really good idea. To use the cart I mean.” 

 

Billy smiled and moved his hand quickly to slap his brother in the face. “Of course it was a good idea.” he said. 

 

“Hey!” Freddy cried out as he was hit in the face. Billy smirked and Freddy chuckled lightly, his anger and frustration slowly slipping away as they limped up to their house. 

 

“Finally.” Freddy said. “I was beginning to think that we'd never make it home.” 

“I know right. I just hope there's some dinner leftover.”

 

“Knowing Rosa, she definitely saved some for us.”

 

“Mm, true.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like i said earlier, probably not one of my best fics ever, but i still had some fun with it.


	14. Hope in the Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Shazam cant save someone, he realizes that Billy Batson can....and Billy's eilling to do whatever it takes to save them. Even getting hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...you thought i only wrote happy/comfort fics. Well sucks to suck bucko but you were wrong! 
> 
> Enjoy this hella long angsty fic and have fun crying!

_ So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light _

_ 'Cause oh that gave me such a fright _

_ But I will hold on as long as you like _

_ Just promise me that we'll be alright _

* * *

  
  


It was his fault. It was all his fault. He was careless and reckless and he didn’t think and now….now someone else was paying for it. 

 

“Hey,” Billy whispered. “Hey, please you gotta listen to me.” the child before him looked at the hero with wide fear ridden eyes and Billy felt his heart grow heavy and turn into lead. 

 

The boy couldn't have been any older than Darla, and yet here he was cowering in a crumbling building, covered in dust, with a bloody cut on his forehead, trembling in fear. Because really, what else are you supposed to do when a building is about to collapse on you? The boy didn't deserve to be here. He should be in a home right now, tucked into bed by a loving mother and holding a soft stuffed pet to keep his nightmares at bay. 

 

He shouldn't be in a nightmare. 

 

Billy took in a deep shuddering breath and tried to keep himself from panicking. He couldn't lose himself now, not when someone else needed him. 

 

“Please, listen...I-I need you to move.” the kid stared for a second longer and then shook his head, dusty blonde hair fluttering around his dirty and bloody face. 

 

“No, I-I know you're scared. I know this is scary and-and utterly terrifying. But you-you have to be brave...please.” 

 

Billy reached for the little boy, his big form stuck in the crevice that he had tried to fit himself through, and he stretched his arm out until it felt like it would fall off. A bead of sweat slid down his temple. 

 

_ This is your fault,  _ his brain whispered to him. 

 

His white cape snagged on a piece of jagged rock, which led to the big hero moving a fallen boulder a few inches over. The movement caused the wood and rubble above them to shudder and Billy gasped. 

 

He held his breath, not daring to move, and watched with terrified eyes as the debris settled again. 

 

The child in front of him whimpered and burrowed deeper into the little protective hole he had made for himself. The action causing Billy’s lead heart to sink. 

 

He couldn't get to the kid while he was like this, his body was too big and he couldn't fit into the crevice while he was an adult. Which meant the only option he had was turning back. But if he did that, he would risk endangering the kid and causing the building to fully collapse with the lightning bolt. 

 

So Billy stood there, his arm reaching futilely towards someone he feared he wouldn't be able to save. 

 

The wood above them groaned and the teen looked up at the dark ceiling. Dust began to rain down and the wood groaned even louder. Fear settled in the Champion's stomach as he realized that this building was coming down soon and he needed to think fast to fix his mistake. 

 

_ This is your fault.  _

 

The hero turned to the little boy in front of him and tried to smile comfortingly to him, although Billy was sure it came out as anything other than that. So he wiped it off of his face.

 

“Please...you have to listen to me. I cant reach you...you're too far away and i can't-I can't get to you.” Billy took in a shuddery breath, breathing in the dust and the warm night air. “And if i move anything, it could make all of this crumble down. So please, you have to be brave and-and come out. It doesn't have to be far, I just need to be able to reach you….do you think you can do that?” 

 

The boy looked at Billy, his eyes still flashing with fear, and he swallowed. He closed his eyes and nodded his head slowly. The Champion felt a small wave of relief wash over him. 

 

The groaning wood made itself known in Billy's ears again, and the teen glanced up at the ceiling. “Okay,” he said. “Come on, there's not a lot of time.”

 

The boy gulped down air and clenched his fists. In his mind, he was terrified. He felt too scared and frozen to do anything. But when his hero said he needed him to be brave, when the big and strong superhero of Philadelphia said that he needed him… well that was enough to make any child brave enough to face their fear. 

 

He began to crawl forwards, his fingers scraping against the rock, dirt, and fallen wood. And in that moment Billy began to feel hope. The kid was coming forwards and making his way out, it was slow and tedious of course, but he was still moving all the same. 

 

But just when Billy was letting himself hope that everything was going to be alright, and just when the kid was about to reach for his hand, the wood above them cracked.

 

The child gasped and Billy snapped his head up, looking at the broken wood and the crumbling rock and cement. 

 

The little boy froze and trembled, his fear paralyzing him as the rock began to come down and the wood planks finally gave way. 

 

Then everything slowed down. Billy watched the few rocks fall and he listened to the wood snap. His hope flickered out of existence and dread welled up inside of him. 

 

_ This is your fault _

 

Billy looked to the child. He saw the blood dripping down his face. 

 

_ This is your fault _

 

Billy could feel his cape. It was still caught on the rock.

 

_ This is your fault. _

 

If only he didn't have the cape.

 

_ This is your fault _

 

If only he wasn’t so big

 

_ This is your fault _

 

Maybe if he was smaller?

 

_ This was your MISTAKE _

 

Then maybe Billy would just have to fix it. In whatever way he can. 

 

“ **SHAZAM!”**

 

Billy screamed the word with so much desperation and strength in his voice that it hurt his throat. He pushed through the crevice and the lightning bolt struck him. But when it did, the power it ensued was all it took to bring down the rest of the building. The buildings frame crumbled and the sound of screeching metal resonated in the teen’s ears.  

 

But Billy didn't care. He had something much more important to worry about.

 

He dove towards the kid, who was still staring at the ceiling, and wrapped himself around him the moment the rest of the rock collapsed. The brunet felt the tons of rock pile on top of him. He felt the weight of wood and cement and metal crush his body and his bones and he felt the dust and dirt cling to his face with sweat. 

 

But he didnt care. He  _ couldn't _ care. Because all that mattered right now was protecting this little boy and making sure he made it out of this alive. And to hell with Billy Batson. 

 

The last thing he remembered before darkness consumed him was the tight embrace of the kid as he clung to him, and the thought of keeping him safe no matter what. 

 

* * *

 

When the dust finally settled, and not a sound could be heard, did Billy finally wake up. And no one could have prepared him for the overwhelming pain that he felt. He gasped and choked back a sob, gritting his teeth in defiance and struggled to not collapse then and there.  

  
  


Everything in his body hurt. His ribs ached, his back felt like it had been crushed by a metal compressor, and his arms felt like stone; too heavy to move and if they did, they would crack. But the worst of it was his legs. They wailed in agony and it took everything inside of Billy to not scream and cry at the anguish. 

  
  


Water dripped down his face, and dust went down his lungs with every breath he breathed in, causing the brunet to cough harshly and hurt his ribs even more. Billy opened his eyes and saw only darkness. The overwhelming and suffocating darkness.

 

The teen gasped and gulped down air, trying to calm himself down, but found that somehow he couldn’t. There was no air. He needed air. Billy needed air. Where was it? It wasn’t there. Why couldn’t he breathe?! 

 

The brunet tried to move, squirming to try and find any air that he can; but his body screamed at him and shouted for him to stop. He ignored the cries and continued searching because there had to be something, anything, for him to breathe in, right?! 

 

But his search was cut short when he felt something flare in his side. Billy cried out at the burning pain and stopped moving. The fire subsided, but still throbbed in persistence. The teen glanced down at it and he gasped when he saw a jagged piece of metal sticking out of his side. Billy choked and looked away from it, he couldn’t bear to see it right now, and in that moment Billy briefly remembered something someone once said, “You don’t notice the worst injuries until it’s too late.” 

 

The brunet bowed his head and shook it. He couldn’t….he couldn’t lose himself right now. An image flashed in Billy’s mind, but it was gone before he knew what it truly was. A rock settled inside of his stomach and he felt like...like he was forgetting something. Something important.

 

The brunet tried to remember, he tried to think of what he had forgotten, but he couldn’t. It was on the tip of his tongue and he was so close to recalling what he had forgotten, but it kept slipping away from him. 

 

But just then, when Billy felt like he was going to give up, he heard it. Something shifting in the dirt beside him. And then it all came back to Billy. 

 

The kid he had tried to save and the crumbling building and the blood and the lightning bolt. He remembered what he had forgotten and he mentally beat himself over how he could have forgotten someone so important. 

 

The child groaned and the dirt shifted again and Billy reached out his hand, ignoring the heavy feeling in them and praying to any god out there that the kid would grab it.

 

“H….h-hey.” Billy choked out. “I-I’m righ’ ‘ere.” 

 

The sound of light huffing reached his ears and the next thing he knew he felt something small latch onto his arm. A tear went down Billy’s cheek as relief washed over him, leaving a track in the dirt on his face. He didn’t know how exactly they had gotten separated during the collapse, but he was sure glad as hell that the kid was still alive. He pulled his arm back, dragging the kid towards him, and in doing so made his arm cry in pain. He kept pulling until he couldn’t move his arm any farther and the boy was in front of him, staring at the teen with blinking grey eyes. Billy placed the palm of his hand on the boy’s back and let out a sigh of relief. 

 

He was okay.

 

Billy chanted those words over and over in his head, ‘he’s okay, he’s okay, he’s okay,’ like a mantra until he calmed down, letting the alleviation it gave settle in his mind. 

 

“Yo-r oka’.” Billy struggled to say, trying to reassure the kid. He felt something mucky in the back of his throat as he spoke. He used his other hand to pull out his phone, the movement causing his body burn with discomfort, and he turned it on. The screen was cracked beyond recognition, but he could still see the little icons at the top. 

 

There was no signal. Billy felt defeat and his shoulders slumped as much as they could. He turned back to his phone and then went for the next best thing, and turned on the flashlight. And the brunet could see the boy for the first time again since the beginning of this whole mess started.

 

The boy looked at Billy, fear, shock, and fright gleaming in his grey eyes and the cut on his forehead looked even worse than it did before. Billy gulped. The boy looked around them, seeing the semi-darkness, the rubble, the flashlight, the water and dust, he saw the metal sticking out of Billy’s side, his legs trapped under the rock and the kid’s eyes grew brighter as tears began to well up inside them. 

 

The boy shook his head and bit his lip as tears began to fall. Billy’s heart dropped. 

 

“Whe-where di-did he go-o?” he cried. “H-he was-s gonna st-stop it.” 

 

Billy’s eyebrows drew together, his green eyes flashing with confusion. “Who?” 

 

Another tear fell down the boy’s cheek as he stuttered out a reply. “The h-hero. Sha-Shazam.”  the kid sobbed, his hiccuping stuttering his words. “He was su-supposed to sa-ve me, a-and he le-left.” 

 

“No.” Billy said, the mucky feeling rising in his throat. “N-no. He did-dn't.”

 

“Yes, he d-did!” the child cried. “He's go-one!” 

 

“No.” Billy whispered forcefully. The kid looked at him, eyes wide, and Billy could see the whites of his eyes and the absolute terror residing inside of the stormy grey. The brunet breathed, inhaling the dust and smell of sweat and the tang of blood. There was only one way to comfort this kid, and while Billy knew there was no going back from it, he knew that this child's hope was more important than his secret identity, in the here and now. 

 

“No, I’m not.”

 

The boy hiccuped again, and a tear slid down his face, but his sobbing had stopped. He stared at Billy, the gears turning inside his head. 

 

Something shifted in the rubble behind them and Billy hissed in pain as the rocks moved and added some more weight to his legs. He panted and tried to take in deep breaths, but the action caused his side to flare up in pain, the piece of metal making itself known again. 

 

No matter what Billy did to try and keep in control of his own body, it seemed to do nothing but make it worse. 

 

The brunet fumbled his hand toward the metal and he fingered it, wishing so badly that he could just tear it out and be done with the damned thing. But it had to stay in and he knew that. Billy had to keep it in until help arrived despite how long that might take. And it didn't help to know that Billy could literally  _ feel  _ it inside of him. That he could feel the cold shard sticking inside and out of him, rubbing against his skin and hardening into place where the blood began to dry. The thought sent a blood curdling tremble down his spine.

 

The teen suddenly felt washed with cold and he shivered at the sudden chill. His vision blurred and his ears began to ring uncomfortably and Billy shook his head, trying to get rid of it. He didn't know what was happening and he didn't like it, not one bit.   

 

“Yo-you're...Shaz-zam?” he heard the boy whisper in front of him. Billy looked up, ignoring the ringing in his ears and the fuzziness in his head, and nodded. The mucky feeling in his throat rising. The brunet swallowed it down and noted how it tasted metallic. 

 

That couldn't be good. 

 

“Yeah.” Billy strangled out. The kid looked away from him, his eyes darting to and fro as he was clearly thinking, and confusion laid plain on his face. 

 

“Ch-change back.” he said, his voice having grown stronger since Billy's confession. But the brunet hung and shook his head. He couldn't change back. He couldn't become Shazam again. 

 

Not when he was surrounded by rubble, injured so badly that he couldn't move, and that close to a child. Billy was pretty sure that even if he  _ moved  _ wrong, that the rock and wood would shift even more and crush them both. So calling down the magical lightning bolt was out of the question. He just couldn't do it. 

 

“No, you, y-you can do it. I s-saw you do i-it.” the boy persisted.

 

Billy continued to shake his head. “I, I can't. If I do...you'll get hurt.” 

 

“S-so? You ca-an save us.” 

 

“So can someone else.” Billy retaliated. “We just have to wait.”

 

The kid hung his head and burrowed it in his arms at the admittance. Billy’s stomach dropped and his heart grew even heavier than it already was, feeling like the world was weighing it down.

 

“I’m s-scared.” the kid said, his soft voice muffled by his arms and buried head. Billy could hear him begin to cry once more and the teen swallowed hard, feeling the muckiness in his throat rise higher. He moved his hand so that it was on the back of the kid’s head, which caused him to flinch and look up. 

 

Billy tried to smile, his brotherly instincts kicking in. “Me too.” the boy hiccuped and continued to stare at the older teen. “But, all we have to do is wait and someone will come. And we can wait a little bit, right?” 

 

The air was silent between the two, the only sound being the dripping of water and heavy breathing and then the boy slowly nodded, answering Billy’s question. Even if all the nod was was a small twitch of his head. 

 

Billy breathed a sigh and felt some of the weight on his heart lift. He bowed his head and laid it on top of his other arm, closing his eyes and trying to loosen the tight feeling in his chest and ignore the pain. The two boys stayed there, not moving a muscle and just breathed in the dank air. 

 

There was no more light for them after a couple of minutes, since the phone in Billy's hand died, and the overwhelming darkness consumed them once again. The boy gasped and Billy could feel him begin to shake. There had to be something he could do. Something to help him comfort this little kid and let him know that somehow, everything was going to be okay. 

 

“It's so dark.” the boy whispered, his squeaky voice tight with fear. Billy nodded. 

 

“Yeah, it really is.” the brunet tried to smooth the blonde hair away from the kids face, but instead ended up brushing his hand against the cut, causing the kid to suck air through his teeth. Billy bit his lip guiltily. “But, it'll be morning soon yeah? And then it won't be so dark anymore. You just gotta hold on a little longer.” 

 

The kid stared at Billy, his grey eyes unmoving. 

 

Billy felt something warm and sticky slip down his side and he glanced back down at the piece of metal and even though he couldn't see anything, he still knew what it was. 

 

“Shit.” he hissed underneath his breath. 

 

The kid whimpered and ducked his head into his arms again. Billy turned back to the boy and immediately felt bad about swearing so harshly in front of him. 

 

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to.” 

 

There was a pause. “It's fine...i'm used to it.” 

 

Billy nodded slightly, he understood what that was like. “What's your name?” he asked. If he was going to help this kid and help him out of this, it only felt right that he knew his name. 

 

The boy held his breath for a moment. “Johnny.” he said after a beat.

 

“Johnny.” Billy repeated. “I'm sorry i got us into this. And i promise you… i promise you that we're gonna get out of this and that we'll be alright.”  

 

Johnny hesitated. “...How can you know that?” 

 

“Because….because i do.” Billy said. The warm and sticky feeling slowly becoming more prominent on his side as the edges of Billy's vision began swimming. But the teen couldn't really tell, it was too dark for him to see anything and his head started feeling fuzzy again. 

 

The pressure on his legs seemed to become heavier and heavier and Billy groaned in discomfort. He could feel the cracked bones inside of his legs as the weight shifted. The pain was almost too much for him to bear.

 

Billy began panting and he suddenly felt very light headed. “Someone will... come. And they will…...call..help. Or they...will….. help.” 

 

“Shazam?” Johnny asked, his voice small and alarmed. His voice seemed so far away to Billy. The brunet's eyebrows drew together in confusion. Wasn't he lying right in front of him?

 

“-azam!?” 

 

Why was Johnny getting farther away? 

 

“-ZAM!” 

 

And was it just Billy, or was the darkness suddenly starting to feel so soft and warm? Like it was a blanket covering his tired body and putting his mind to rest. Sleep sounded so nice to him right now. Maybe just a couple of minutes of sleep, where's the harm in that? At least the kid was safe for now, so did he really need him right now?

 

_ Yes.  _ A voice whispered in the back of his mind.  _ Yes, he does. Stay awake.  _

 

Well what did the voice know? Probably not much. And besides, the dark felt so nice and the pocket of air they were trapped in felt so warm. Maybe nobody would mind. And help was coming either way, I mean, who wouldn't have noticed a collapsed building and  _ not  _ called the police. Maybe they were here at that very moment.

 

Billy heard someone call for him, but whoever was shouting to him was too far away from him to hear them properly. 

 

Maybe just a few minutes of closing his eyes and sleeping and he'll be fine…..just a few minutes.

 

Where's the danger in that?

 

* * *

 

He heard voices. 

 

People were shouting, there was a subtle rumbling beneath Billy, a ringing filled his ears, and the air he breathed in felt clear and crisp, almost cold. The teen began to wonder when the rocks had become so soft and mattress-like when someone yanked open his eyelid and flashed a bright light into his eye, causing the brunet to groan.

 

Why did he have to wake up from his sleep? It had been so nice and pleasant. And why was everyone shouting? He was fine, wasn't he?

 

Billy's eyelids flickered here and there, his head feeling as if it was stuffed with cotton balls and wrapped with bubble wrap, and he saw a white thing hanging above him. He noticed that he was lying on his back now instead of on his stomach, and it felt like sharp pins were tickling his arms. When did he move? Was he out of the darkness now? Was this the light? It wasn't as peaceful as he thought it was going to be. In fact, it was very loud. Why was it so loud? 

 

He vaguely noted how badly his side hurt and how his legs throbbed uncomfortably when someone suddenly appeared in his field of vision. They asked him something, but Billy couldn't hear it. He just smiled, or at least tried to, and hoped it wasn't a question. The person frowned and turned away from him, talking to someone else. And then another person came over and held down his arms, pressing them into the soft rocks beneath him. The brunet’s eyebrows drew together and his eyes narrowed. 

 

What were they doing?

 

The first person, a woman Billy finally realized, pressed a hand against his side, and the ache residing there flared. The teen hissed and grit his teeth, because this was definitely not the light at the end of the tunnel; it hurt way too much to be.

 

Billy tried to squirm at the pain, but the other person held him down and refused to let him move. The woman placed her other hand on whatever was causing Billy’s side to hurt and it itched and hurt so much. What was it? Billy couldn’t remember what that was, but he knew that it hurt and he wanted it to stop hurting. Why couldn’t it just stop? Why couldn’t it leave him be?

 

The woman gripped whatever the thing was, and with a sudden flinch of her hand, tore it out of Billy. The teen cried at the white pain erupting in his side and screamed. It burned and agonized him, leaving him heaving and praying for release, but luckily the fire died down quickly, leaving a dull pain in his side. Billy whimpered and breathed shakily. His vision became blurry from the water that rose in them. 

 

Why did it hurt so much?

 

The woman tried to talk to the brunet, her hands pressed against his side and the other person covering up the gaping hole with something. She asked him a question, but Billy didn’t answer. 

 

Why did it hurt so much?

 

She turned her head, her braid whipping around, and shouted to someone in front of Billy. He couldn’t hear what she said though, the ringing had become a din in his ears and his head began to pound. He just wanted to sleep...let him sleep. 

 

Billy closed his eyes and released a shaky sigh. He felt someone shake his shoulder and call out something, but he didn’t care, he just wanted to sleep again….just let him sleep. 

 

* * *

 

The next time Billy woke up, he didn’t know where he was. He couldn’t see anything except for a bleary blackness and for a split second, he wondered if he was still underneath rock and cement, with no escape and stuck inhaling dust. But that couldn’t be right. Because the air was crisp and clear, there was no weight on his legs, and everything he touched felt soft and clean. He couldn’t be in the rubble. 

 

Something shifted next to him, and Billy listened to it, hearing a breath exhaled. The brunet wondered who it was, and tried to open his eyes. They felt so heavy...so, so heavy, like lead, and the teen struggled to open them, even if it was only a little bit. Billy could feel the crust on his eyes as he opened them and he saw the blurriness they provided. He couldn’t see very clearly, but he knew that there was someone there with him. He needed to know who.

 

_ Just a little wider.  _ He thought to himself, urging his body to follow his commands. 

 

His evergreen eyes opened and Billy blinked, letting them adjust to the brightness of the room after being encased in darkness for so long. He felt so dense and heavy and so tired that he couldn’t move. But the brunet forced himself to move. He turned his head to the side and looked at who was there. 

 

A boy around his age, with unruly, dark, curly hair, and pale skin with freckles, spread across an uncomfortable looking chair. He had a weird stick of sorts lying on the ground beside him and a large blue coat draped across him. His head had lolled back and drool slipped down from his mouth, and Billy was sure that if he wasn’t so tired, that he would be smiling at the boy. 

 

He knew that he knew him. He knew that the dark-haired teen was familiar to him and that Billy should’ve been able to name him then and there, but he just couldn’t remember. Tears welled up in Billy’s eyes...why couldn’t he remember? He knew him, but why couldn’t he remember his name?

 

It was important, so very important.

 

Billy whined and continued to look at the teen, that one thought swirling inside of his head. ‘Why can’t i remember, why can’t i remember?’ The brunet gasped when he took a breath too big and his insides burned all of a sudden. He grunted and choked back a cry and closed his eyes again.  _ Why couldn’t he remember?  _

 

The sound of shifting reached Billy’s ears again, and green eyes opened again. The boy in the chair smacked his lips dryly and rubbed his tired eyes, the coat falling off of his form and crumpling onto the ground. He gazed around the room dazedly, before his eyes trained on Billy. He saw the brunet staring at him and achingly familiar brown eyes widened, all signs of sleep disappearing from them. 

 

“Billy?” his voice croaked. He immediately pushed himself off of the armrests and fell onto the bed with a thump, his crutch lying forgotten. He quickly began shuffling and moving himself until he was sitting up and looked at Billy, his eyes glistening like glass and the twitch of a smile tugging at his lips. The dark-haired boy threw his arms around the brunet and enveloped him in a hug. Billy grunted but still returned the hug nonetheless, sniffling as tears fell down his face. 

 

“You’re awake!” the boy cried out. “I knew you were going to wake up. It’s been like forever.” the boy said, softly tightening his grip on Billy’s shoulders. The brunet buried his face in the other’s curly hair and let out a sob, relishing and regretting the embrace as an overwhelming feeling of guilt consuming him. 

 

“I can’t remember,” he whispered into the curls. “I’m sorry I can’t remember. I know you but i can’t remember. I’m so sorry…I’m sorry...I know you….” The boy untangled himself from Billy, who suddenly felt empty at the lack of being held, and the raven looked at him. His brown eyes flashing with confusion and his arms hanging limply at his sides. 

 

“You don’t know who I am?” he asked, his small voice breaking. The guilt felt heavy on Billy’s shoulders, as if anchors were weighing them down, and he gasped as another cry came out. He nodded. Expecting the other boy to get up and leave him as soon as he said he couldn’t remember who he was. But the brunet was surprised when he pulled him into another hug, this one gentler than the previous one. 

 

“That’s okay.” he said in a hushed voice. “I’m your brother... Freddy.” Billy let the tears fall as he heard the name. 

 

_ Freddy, this is Freddy. Don’t forget Freddy.  _ He reminded himself, thinking the name over and over again. 

 

_ Don’t forget your brother Freddy. This is your brother. He’s here and his name is Freddy.  _ He held onto his brother with all of his might, even though his muscles felt so heavy and weak that they were about to snap. But Billy didn’t care, because he was afraid that if he let go for a moment, his brother would disappear into thin air. 

 

_ Don’t let go of Freddy. Don’t forget him.  _ He told himself. He wasn’t going to forget him again. 

 

“I’m sorry.” Billy whispered. 

 

“It’s okay. I don’t blame you. But maybe you should sleep and get a little more rest before the others come though. They’ll want to talk to you.” 

 

The brunet shook his head, making his head ache at the movement. “No, I don’t want to sleep. I wanna stay awake.” 

 

Freddy nodded, his grip softening and one of his hands starting to rub Billy’s back. “Okay, then maybe we should get you something to eat. You’ve been out for a few days.” 

 

“Mmkay.” 

 

The room was silent and neither one of them wanted to let go of the other. Because to Freddy, it had been days since he had last seen his foster sibling awake and alive. When he had heard that Billy was in the hospital, his blood ran cold and he had frozen on the spot. He had begged Rosa and Victor to take him with them when they went to the hospital, and seeing how distraught he was they let him come. Freddy didn’t even care to grab a coat when they left, and he had waited outside of the O.R., bouncing his good leg up and down anxiously and prayed to the wizard Shazam and to any god out there, even Wonder Woman because technically she’s a god too, that his brother would make it out okay. 

 

That night had been one of the worst of Freddy’s life. 

 

The doctors and nurses didn’t say much about what had happened to him, because Billy was delirious in the ambulance and he didn’t say what exactly had happened, so all they knew was that someone had found him and another child beneath a collapsed building. And when he was pulled out he had a ruptured spleen, internal bleeding, multiple fractures in his ankle, and a severely broken leg. They had to do immediate surgery on him, since it seemed like his spleen had been ruptured hours ago, and they didn’t know how long he had been bleeding.  

 

So Freddy didn’t know if his brother would survive that night or not and it was scary. It was scary as hell. He had stayed up all night, despite Victor and Rosa telling him to get some sleep, and he waited until a sleep-deprived nurse walked up to them and gave them the news that Billy would make it and that he would wake up sometime the next morning. 

 

But Billy didn’t wake up. 

 

And Freddy’s heart clenched tighter and tighter with every day that passed and his brother didn’t wake up from his sleep. And soon enough, he started sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night and turning into his super self, so that he could fly to the hospital and stay there till morning. He wanted to be there when Billy woke up, and who knew how long that was going to take? And during those nights Freddy realized that he had never seen Billy so vulnerable before and it was bizarre to say the least. Billy had always been the tough one out of the both of them, what with having lived on the streets, his stoic and sarcastic facade, and letting next to no emotion appear on his face. So seeing him lying in a hospital bed, skin pale, legs in casts and splints, with surgical scars, was scary. 

 

So when he saw Billy looking at him with dull green eyes that one morning, you can imagine his utter happiness and relief. 

 

But Billy hadn’t remembered him and that had hurt Freddy on a whole different level. Luckily though, the raven was too relieved to see his brother awake to truly care about how much it had hurt him. Because right now, his sibling had been through something no teenager should go through and he didn’t need the sorrow. He had been through enough. He needed his brother and who cares if that meant reminding him who Freddy was. 

 

* * *

 

After Freddy texted and called everyone at home, they had all taken the day off to come and see Billy. And once they all clambered into the room, Darla had climbed into the bed and snuggled herself right next to Billy. Trying to hug him and be careful enough to not be on his injured side and tears had welled up inside her eyes. Billy did his best to hug her back and let her know that he was alive and well, but that didn’t stop his tears from rolling down his cheeks as well. 

 

When Rosa saw him sitting up in the bed, her eyes glistened and she immediately came over and hugged him, kissing the hair on top of his head. “You gave us a big scare there,  _ mi amour _ .” she said. Billy smiled softly and nodded his head. 

 

“I know,” he whispered.  

 

Mary sat down on the opposite side of the bed, mirroring Freddy, and held the brunet’s hand, giving it a light squeeze. Billy smiled at her, knowing that she was being considerate of his personal space and she returned the smile, her eyes shining with happiness that her newest brother was safe while Eugene and Pedro sat at the foot of the bed. Victor walked up to Billy and pulled up another chair, sitting down next to Mary, and brushed his hand through the teen’s tangled hair, a grateful smile on his face. 

 

Everyone Billy cared about stood in that room, and the teen didn’t think he could be any more thankful than he was at that moment. 

 

* * *

 

Later that night, when the room was quiet and the muffled sounds of the hospital filled Billy’s ears, did he wonder about what happened to Johnny. No one told him what had happened to the other boy they had found and the brunet was beginning to worry. Did he not make it? Did Billy fail to save a life? If this ambulance had taken him here, then wouldn’t they have taken Johnny to the same hospital? 

 

These questions swirled inside of Billy and he couldn’t bear it any longer when they became too overwhelming. Sparing a glance outside to see if anyone was there he turned on the bedside lamp and reached for the crutches at his side. Getting out of the hospital bed was a big struggle for him and Billy briefly wondered how on earth Freddy was strong enough to get out of bed everyday when one of his legs was messed up. 

 

But then finally, the brunet ‘stood’ victorious, panting heavily and feeling extremely uncomfortable as most of his weight was transferred to his shoulders and arms.  _ Okay,  _ he thought.  _ Let’s take this easy.  _ He swung the crutches forward and hissed as he realized he went to far out and stretched his post-surgery stitches. This was harder than he thought. Thankfully though, after moving around the room a little bit, trying to get a feel for the devices, Billy was sufficient enough to move on his own. 

 

He limped over to the door and opened it, the cool light from the hallway reaching into the room and mixing with the warm light from the lamp. 

 

Billy hobbled out, and looked down both ways. He probably wasn’t supposed to be up and moving about just yet, but he couldn’t help it. He had to know if Johnny was okay. Reasoning that since the two of them had been stuck together they would be in the same hospital wing, Billy started searching, peeking into each of the rooms and shaking his head every time he didn’t see who he was looking for. 

 

But then the brunet realized that since Johnny was a kid, he would’ve been placed in the pediatrics wing. Mentally hitting himself, Billy set out to find the ward. And after he had been looking for what felt like hours, avoiding nurse and doctors and checking every room he could, Billy finally found him. Lying in a clean bed with a bandage wrapped around his head and his wrist resting a small splint. 

Billy felt a weight lift off of his shoulders at the sight of the kid, knowing that he was okay and alive and that he hadn’t failed him. The brunet almost started crying from relief. He hadn’t failed, he had saved his life and he was okay.

 

His hair and face had been washed recently and his bright blonde hair shined in the lamplight. No longer dirty or bloody. A woman sat beside Johnny, watching him sleep and her eyes flickered towards Billy. Her clear grey eyes identical to Johnny’s and Billy knew that she was his mother. He gulped as he realized he had been caught and he began to move, turning around and slightly tripping on the crutches, stumbling. Billy hissed through his teeth as he jostled his injuries and he heard the door open up behind him. 

 

“You.” the woman said behind him. Billy’s shoulders clenched and he froze. 

 

“You saved my son.” she said. Sounding almost stunned and the brunet turned his head so that he could see her out of the corner of his eye. 

 

The woman walked forwards and placed herself in front of him, so that he couldn’t walk away and avert his gaze from hers. She stared at him for a moment longer before pulling him into a hug. Billy stood awkwardly as the stranger hugged him and tensed when she sighed. 

 

“Thank you.” she said. 

 

Billy relaxed slightly and almost wished that he could hug her back. 

 

“You’re welcome.” he said. The woman let go of him, sensing how uncomfortable he was and let him pass. Billy limped away, heading back to his room, with a small smile on his face as he knew that he had fulfilled his duty as a superhero.

 

He didn’t look back. 

 

* * *

_ So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light _

_ 'Cause oh that gave me such a fright _

_ But I will hold on as long as you like _

_ Just promise me that we'll be alright _

  
  
  


_ And we’ll live a long life _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent over a week on this thing. And i nearly cried writing it. Although that probably had something to do with the sad music i listened to to get in the mood to write this.  
> But anyway, the song is called Ghosts the We Knew by Mumford and Sons and its ehat inspired this fic. 
> 
> Comments and requests are always welcome and until next time!


	15. Find Your Way Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Billy's birthday, but he doesn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it, so he keeps it on the down low. But maybe he shouldn't have mentioned anything to Freddy because dear God, why is everyone acting so weird?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i spent so long thinking about what chapter to upload next, but now i finally came up with something. I hope you guys enjoy and sorry if its a little sloppy.

The days following Billy coming home from the hospital were a stressful few. Billy didn’t know how to navigate the crutches very well, and the Vasquez’s had to work out a bed for him since Freddy had the lower bunk; and the brunet couldn’t exactly climb up the ladder to his bed. 

 

So he set up camp on the couch in the living room, and Freddy being the good brother he was, had decided to join him. 

 

That had been a few nights ago. And it was on this particular night did something revelating happen. 

 

The two boys were sitting on the couch, the sun had just gone down over the horizon and they just had a wonderful dinner of hamburger soup. The warm glows inside of the house were beginning to dwindle since most of the family had gone to bed and the two siblings were the only ones left in the living room. Freddy was reading a comic book while Billy was working on some late school work. He hated the fact that even if you aren't at school you still have to do the work from that day. As if Billy didn't have enough going on as it was. 

 

The brunet had just started working on his first assignment, when he absentmindedly asked Freddy what the date was. When Freddy answered, saying that it was late May, Billy couldn't really stop himself from what he said next.

 

"Oh hey, my birthday's coming up." 

 

The raven paused in his reading and looked up from his book. He stared at Billy who apparently didn't notice what he had just said and had continued on with his assignment. 

 

"I'm sorry what did you just say?" Freddy asked. His voice sounding surprised. "Your birthday?" 

 

Billy glanced up a little hesitant and met Freddy's brown eyes. "Uh, yeah?" 

 

The curly-haired teen threw down his book and shifted in his spot til he was facing Billy head on. Startling the brunet enough to make him forget his homework.

 

"Why didn't you say anything!" He exclaimed. 

 

"What?"

 

"About your birthday! Why didn't you tell us it was coming up?! Unless of course your one of those people who are like 'my birthday is a piece of private information about me and I don't want other people celebrating it.' Because if that's the case then too bad buddy we're getting you a cake no matter wh-"

 

Billy scoffed. "Freddy, I didn't say anything because... well because my birthday isn't that big of a deal." 

 

Freddy guffawed and Billy sighed. He rubbed his hands together awkwardly and averted his gaze from his brother's. 

 

“Why do you say that?” the raven asked. 

 

"It's just ...hard to celebrate your birthday and be happy when you're living on the streets and running away from foster homes." Billy said. "So, I've just made it not that big of a deal. And besides all it is is the day of the year when I was born, there's nothing special about it."

 

Freddy scoffed. "Uh, I beg to differ." 

 

"Freddy," Billy said, his voice tired yet stern. The raven looked at the brunet and heard the serious tone in his voice. "Just forget about it. I don't want you turning this molehill into a mountain, okay?" 

 

Freddy pursed his lips and crossed his arms. "No promises."

 

"Freddy!" 

 

"Okay fine, I won't say anything. But can I at least get you a present?" 

 

Billy hesitated, before turning back to his homework and reading the questions. "Sure I guess, you can get me a present. But nothing too big okay?" 

 

Freddy smiled and reached for his book, which had been thrown farther than he thought, and leaned back in his chair. 

 

"Okay, that's fine by me."

 

Billy stared at his brother for a moment, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, before he shook his head and turned back to his papers. Freddy was definitely gonna blow this out of the water, he just knew it. And Billy only hoped that his dumbass sibling wouldn't turn something as insignificant as his birthday into a giant ridiculous event. 

 

Like a party. 

 

Oh please, God, don't let it be a party. 

 

* * *

 

Billy sat at the dining table drenching his fluffy pancakes in syrup and contentedly sipping his coffee, glaring at everything suspiciously. 

 

When he woke up that morning, he was surprised to see that Freddy wasn't in his own couch/bed and had for some reason gotten up earlier than normal. Billy thought it was curious, but decided not to give it too much thought. Maybe he just wanted to get the first shower in the morning before Mary or something...but something inside Billy told him that that wasn’t the case. 

 

It had been about a week since he told Freddy that his birthday was coming up, and as much as Billy enjoyed talking to his brother, he started feeling suspicious towards him. 

 

Because for one, a bunch of weird things started happening. 

 

Like one time, Mary gave Billy a strange knowing look. Like she knew a secret of his and decided to keep quiet around him. Usually she asked how his day was or if there was anything new going on his life, but not recently. Recently it’s been like she’s trying to NOT say anything. And it was weird. 

 

And another thing, Darla kept leaving the rooms Billy entered, almost like she was avoiding him. At first, Billy wondered if he had hurt her feelings or offended her in some way. But then the next time he saw her leave, she had a dopey smile on her face. Very suspicious. 

 

And again, it happened when Eugene rapidly closed his laptop the second Billy was near him. And for a split second, Billy wondered if he was hiding something from him on the computer; Billy cautiously left the room being very wary of his younger brother. 

 

And another time he walked into the kitchen to get himself a soda when Pedro and Victor were discussing something, and their voices instantly quieted when they saw him. Victor rubbed the back of his neck nervously and Pedro shoved a piece of paper into his pockets. Billy stared at them strangely before grabbing his carbonated drink. 

 

And don’t even get him started on how Freddy was acting. 

 

That boy had been all over the place this past week. And what made it even more infuriating was the fact that he wasn’t telling Billy anything. And then when Billy confronted him about it, all he said was “It’s for your birthday. No spoilers.” and that was freaking it. 

 

It was driving Billy nuts! 

 

And that morning, Rosa came downstairs to prepare breakfast. Another curious thing, because usually his foster mom didn’t have enough time in the morning to make breakfast for everyone. Which means that she had gotten up early just like Freddy had. 

 

“Good morning Billy,” she said when she saw him limp into the kitchen with his crutches. “Did you sleep well?” 

 

Billy looked at her funny. “Uh, yeah. Yeah it was okay.”

 

Rosa smiled, and turned to the pancakes in the frying pan. “Oh good!”  And it couldn’t be a coincidence that Rosa decided, of all days, to make his favorite breakfast on his fucking  _ birthday. _ Buttermilk pancakes, with strawberries and nutella, and coffee? His foster mom set down the breakfast in front of him and Billy stared at it, his eyes flickering between the food and Rosa, before he hesitantly picked up a fork. 

 

A line from BBC’s Sherlock all of sudden popped up in Billy’s head, and for some reason, he found it very relevant. 

 

_ “What do we say about coincidences?”  _

 

“ _ The universe is so rarely lazy.”  _

 

And just at that moment, Mary and Pedro walked in. “Morning Billy!” Mary exclaimed happily, a shining grin on her face. Billy muttered a “mornin’” to his sister and his eyes followed her as she walked about the kitchen, gathering plates and forks and cups to set the rest of table. Pedro shuffled over to the table and sat down in his usual spot, he gave Billy a small smile. 

 

Something was going on. 

 

Because Pedro’s smile was a great deviance from his good morning grunt, and that in and of itself was enough to make Billy instantly suspicious of everything everyone was doing. 

 

“Billy? Aren’t you going to eat your food?” the brunet heard Rosa say to him. Billy jumped in his seat and turned to his foster mom. 

 

“Oh, uh, yeah! Sorry.” he said as he turned back to his food and began digging into the golden pancakes. He stuffed a bite into his mouth and nearly melted at how delicious they were. The sweet strawberries and smooth nutella against the fluffy pancake was exactly what Billy needed in his life right now. He took another couple of bites, relishing the delicious god-send that was pancakes and drank some of the bitter, creamy coffee. 

 

Then before he knew it, he had inhaled the entire plate. Not even a smear of nutella was left behind. 

 

“Wow, you sure ate that up quick didn’t you?” Mary said across from him. He glanced up at the senior girl and nearly blushed in embarrassment. 

 

“Yeah well, I was hungry.” Billy said, defending himself. The boy reached for his mug and went to take a sip, before realizing with a huff that it was empty. He set it down on the table and turned to get his crutches, so that he could walk over and get more coffee, but was put to a stop by Mary. 

 

“No, no, I’ll get it for you!” she said snatching his mug. Billy looked at her like she had grown a second head as she walked over to the coffee pot and poured him another cup. She put in everything that he usually put in, cream and sugar, and set it down in front of him. 

 

“Here you go.” she said cheerily. Billy looked at the mug for a moment before reaching for it. He took a sip, and noted how it was exactly the way he liked it. 

 

By now, most of the other foster kids had come down for breakfast, and all of them were acting strangely. Darla sat next to him and was stuffing her face full of pancakes, exactly how she stuffed her face when he and Freddy were fighting about Shazam all those months ago, and Billy narrowed his eyes at her. He was sure that she wasn’t just stuffing her face because of the delicious pancakes.    

 

And if Darla’s actions meant anything, then that meant she was hiding something. Billy leaned in close to his little sister. 

 

“Hey, Darla,” he whispered. “What’s going on?”

 

The dark-skinned girl stuffed a big bite of fluffy pancake into her mouth and shrugged, mumbling through her full mouth. Billy scrunched up his face, both in disgust and disappointment, as he realized that Darla wasn’t planning on talking. And once she made up her mind on something, there was no talking her out of it. 

 

Billy glanced up and looked around the table, before he noticed something was wrong. He spun his head around, looking for the one person missing. But when he couldn’t find him he turned to Mary.  

 

“Hey,” he said. “Where’s Freddy?” 

 

Mary hummed, her eyebrows raising. “Oh, he and Victor went out.” Billy gave her a look. 

 

“Really? Before nine a.m. in the morning? Is he even capable of getting up any earlier than eleven anyway?” 

 

Mary shrugged. “Maybe he just had a really early doctor’s appointment.” 

 

Billy scoffed. “Yeah, sure okay. Whatever.” He reached for his crutches and stood up on them a little clumsily. Because even though he had been using them for just over a week, he still had trouble using them. He brought his plate over to the sink and set it down before heading towards the stairs. Maybe this time he would be able to get up without any help. 

 

* * *

 

When Freddy and Victor came home, Billy wasn’t even there. Somehow, Mary and Darla had convinced/dragged him along with them on errands and a fun day out. They went to some retail stores and shops at one point before going to a cafe and ordering some food. Billy’s legs were aching at the constant movement, so he was very grateful for the rest his two sisters were giving him. Although he wondered how Mary was able to afford all of this. And when he asked her, she waved her hand and said that Rosa and Victor gave her some money to spend. 

 

Which seemed a bit odd to Billy, because why was today so special. Other than his birthday of course...but they didn’t know that. 

 

Did they? 

 

Just another weird and suspicious thing to add to the ever-growing list.

 

The teen walked inside and collapsed on the couch, breathing out a sigh of relief as his legs finally rested from the long day, and he closed his eyes. Reveling in the moment of peace and quiet. Until that peace and quiet was interrupted by Freddy. 

 

The raven walked over to the couch and nudged Billy’s shoulder, getting his attention. Juniper eyes peeked out from underneath heavy eyelids and Billy sighed. Couldn’t he just take a nap? 

But apparently, he couldn’t, because then Freddy bent down and whispered lowly to his brother, so that only he could hear. 

 

“I got your present.” he said. Billy opened his eyes all the way and straightened his back. “It’s upstairs.” Freddy said. 

 

The brunet groaned and rubbed his eyes, he did  _ not  _ want to walk anymore. He really didn’t, but it appeared that Freddy insisted.

 

“Come on Billy, it’s right upstairs.”

 

“Can’t you just bring it down here?” the birthday boy whined. 

 

“Well, unless you want everyone else finding out it’s your birthday and then Rosa and Mary beginning to make plans to throw you a party where they’ll invite everyone they know and maybe get a face painter and a bouncy castle, or even a couple of those confetti balloons and a huge ass cake that says ‘Happy Birthday Bil-” 

 

“Okay fine!” Billy exclaimed, annoyance glinting in his eyes. Freddy smirked. This was exactly what he wanted, and everything was going to plan. The teen grabbed his crutches and together the two siblings walked up the stairs. Freddy was just fine, going up each step smoothly and with a practiced gate, but Billy was having a bit of a hard time, since he had twice as many crutches as Freddy and a cast and splint on his legs. But that didn’t stop the raven from teasing his brother. 

 

(“Wow, look at you! What a pro. You’d think you were disabled your whole life!”

“Oh shut up Freddy.”)     

 

And eventually, they made it to their room. Freddy sat down on his bunk bed happily and threw down his cane while Billy sat next to him and let his crutches drop to the ground with a loud clatter. A loud meow called out into the room and Billy saw his beloved cat, Trashcan, stand up from her sleeping spot on the windowsill and come to rest on his lap. Kneading his legs before she did so. The teen began to scratch her ears absentmindedly, and the cat started purring happily. 

 

“How do you do that everyday?” Billy asked, clearly asking about the stairs. Freddy glanced at Billy and shrugged. 

 

“I don’t know, you get used to it.” he clapped his hands together. “But, I didn’t bring you up here just to share my disability secrets with you.” Billy scoffed a laugh and Freddy reached over to his bedside desk to turn on the lamp. He opened the drawer beneath it and pulled out a small box, wrapped in red wrapping paper and tied together with yellow ribbon. The box altogether couldn’t be any bigger than Billy’s palm, and with the present came an envelope. Freddy smiled as he handed the gift to Billy. 

 

“Happy fifteenth birthday Billy. Make sure you read the letter first.” 

 

Billy held the small box in his hands and gave Freddy one last look before tearing open the letter. And unlike a card, like he was expecting, it really was an actual letter just like Freddy said. A normal looking letter written in his best friends scraggly handwriting on college-ruled paper. It didn’t look like anything special, but as Billy began to read it, he began to understand just how special it actually was.

 

_             Dear Billy,  _

_ Happy birthday dude! It’s really hard to believe that it’s only been a couple of months since we first met, when it seems like so much longer than that. But I guess that that’s what happens when your new foster brother becomes a superhero and you go through life and death situations with him.  _

_ A week ago you told me that your birthday wasn’t that big of a deal, that I shouldn’t turn it into some huge thing that would draw a lot of attention. And you said that there was nothing special about today other than the fact that you were born.  _

_ Well Billy, you gotta believe me when I say that that’s a load of fucking bullshit.  _

_ Because, are you kidding me!? You’re literally the best person I know and my life is so much better with you here. Without you I wouldn’t have my brother or my best friend. I wouldn’t have been able to do so many things without you! Like FLY!  _

_ And not just my life either, but everyone else’s! Rosa loves you so much dude, and Darla loves having you as her brother. And even though we tease and mess with Mary and it may not seem like it, she still enjoys having you in her life, Billy.  _

_ And yeah, I get how your life sucked at first. That whole thing with your mom was horrible and living on the streets mustn’t have been fun, and I bet it was all a nightmare.  _

_ But Billy, if you think about it.. if none of that awful stuff happened to you… then you wouldn’t be here now!  _

_ With us! _

_ And somehow, whether it was through fate or destiny or some other shit like that, you were able to find us. And we were able to find you. Which is probably the best gift I could ever ask for. _

_ But, I know that sometimes you forget things, or you lose your way and kinda feel lost... so, here’s a little something to help you find your way back when you need it.  _

_ And you say you don’t like celebrating your birthday because it was never a big deal. But I hate to break it to you bud, but I’m gonna have the best time celebrating it, because it was the best thing to happen in the WORLD. _

 

_ Happy Birthday Billy _

 

_ Sincerely, your best friend, brother, and manager, Freddy.   _

 

Billy stared at the last words, his eyesight blurring with tears, and a smile so big resting on his face, that it made him feel like he was cracking. He turned to look at Freddy, who had a soft smile on his face. 

 

“Thanks.” he said, his voice feeling tight. 

 

“What are you thanking me for? You didn’t even open my gift!” Freddy said gesturing to the red box. Billy laughed and proceeded to tear open the wrapping paper. He opened the box and unwrapped the tissue paper inside of it to find….

 

A compass. 

 

And not the cheap kind of compass at a carnival his mother had given him all of those years ago. No, this was a proper compass. One with a bronze colored cover and needle, and when he flicked it opened, it’s directional letters were written in neat font and the base of it was a beautiful copper and white. And then Billy saw that there was an engraving on the bottom of the top cover. And he smiled when he read it. 

 

_ To help you find your way back  _

 

Billy closed the compass and looked at Freddy, his vision blurring again as tears rose and fell. 

 

“Thank you Freddy.” he said. And the raven, his own eyes beginning to look glassy, pulled Billy into a hug who returned it happily. Trashcan mewing in protest as she was disturbed from her little nap.

 

“You’re welcome Billy.”  

 

They held each other for a second before Billy let go and looked at his new compass again. He stroked the casing, smiling, when Freddy got a text on his phone. 

 

“Oop! Looks like it’s time for dinner.” he said. He picked up his cane from the ground and stood up. “Come on, there’s another surprise for you downstairs.” 

 

Billy wiped his eyes and groaned. “Ugh, don’t tell me it’s a surprise party. Because I really don’t have the social battery for a party right now.” 

 

Freddy waved his hand. “Nah, it’s something else. Come on!” Billy picked up his crutches and followed Freddy out of their room and down the stairs, this time it was much easier than going up. Then when they walked into the dining room, Billy was shocked to see the nice plates set out, his favorite dinner prepared and sitting on the table, and a whole bunch of presents cluttered together. The brunet’s mouth hung open as he stared at everything. 

 

“Happy birthday Billy!” Darla screamed. The birthday boy scoffed and let a small smile onto his face. Darla ran over and tugged on his shirt. “Come on come on! Let’s open presents!” 

 

And as Billy sat down at the table, he noticed how every single gift had the words  _ From: Freddy and Co.  _ written on them. The brunet turned to give a light glare to his brother who donned an innocent look on his face. 

 

“What? I asked if I could give at  _ least  _ one. You didn’t say anything about more.” 

 

Billy laughed and shook his head. Typical Freddy. He put his hand in his pocket and stroked the smooth compass cover as Victor called in the same old ‘All hands on deck’ schtick. Billy placed his hand in the center with everyone else and his foster dad said his silly rhymes, before they all dug into the food Rosa and Pedro made. 

 

Steak tacos. Billy’s favorite dinner. 

 

And halfway through this delicious dinner, Darla insisted that he open her and Eugene’s present, at which Freddy cleared his throat. 

 

“Oh sorry,” she said. “Me, Eugene, and  _ Freddy’s  _ present.” she reached for a boxy looking present and gave it to him. And you could imagine his surprise and utter glee when he opened, nothing other than a Shazam action figure. He laughed so hard when he opened it that tears started welling in his eyes. And from there the rest of the family gave him their presents. With every gift given, they would say something along the lines of “this is from FREDDY and me.” 

 

And if he was being honest, Billy found the loophole pretty funny. It was pretty obvious that all of their gifts were from them specifically, but since he had said that Freddy was the only one he’d accept a gift from, they all decided to just put Freddy’s name on it, just so that Billy would take it. And along with Darla and Eugene’s gift, Mary had given him a new red jacket that she had gotten from their shopping spree earlier. And Pedro gave him a capo and a guitar strap, while Rosa and Victor gave him a new guitar case. 

 

But Billy’s favorite present still remained to be the compass. 

 

Because just like Freddy said, somehow he did manage to find his way to them, to this family. 

 

To  _ his  _ family. 

 

Because all of the bad stuff that happened in his life had led him here, even if it was the hard and messy way. And yeah, Billy didn’t usually like celebrating his birthday. It brought up bad memories and lonely, difficult times. But being here with his brothers and sisters and mom and dad, made him realize that yeah, he didn’t like birthdays... 

 

But he liked this one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whelp, im tired and i would like to go to bed on a happy note, so here's a happy fic. I really hope you guys enjoyed it and comments and requests are always welcome.   
> Also, if you noticed, i put in the strawberries and nutella thing because its one of Asher's favorite snacks. I just thought thatd be a fun easter egg for you guys.   
> Until next time!


	16. Spiders and Beef Jerky Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another visitor from Doctor Strange's world pops up, and Billy's too tired to deal with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote most of this in one day, so im sorry if it seems a bit sloppy. This crossover was suggested by arithese and honestly, a lot of you asked me to keep this crossover going. So here's the next part of it! Also it's a three-shot. So you're welcome.  
> Enjoy!

“Alright! Who’s ready for Day of Chill 2.0?” Freddy exclaimed. 

 

"Me!" Billy said, already flopping onto the couch and reaching for the beef jerky. He relaxed into the couch cushions and began munching on his favorite snack. A happy smile resting on his face that would soon be extinct. 

 

“Breaking News…” the tv blared once Freddy turned it on. 

 

“Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me!” Billy shouted. 

 

Both boys groaned in annoyance and Billy collapsed on the couch in defeat. This was the second time he had tried to have a Day of Chill and once again it was thwarted by some stupid newscaster with a stupid news story about a stupidly dressed person. 

 

"A new vigilante has been spotted in the center of Philadelphia. No one knows who he is or what he calls himself, but one thing that’s for sure is that he has been asking for our personal superhero, Captain Sparklefingers." 

 

The news channel then cut to a video taken from someone's phone, and it showed a dressed individual swinging around a few buildings before landing on one of them. And what really surprised the two boys was the fact that the person was able to stick to the walls! 

 

His super suit was made up of black and red with white angled eyes that narrowed as they surveyed their surroundings. He landed on the concrete and a whole crowd gathered around the figure and you could tell that he wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many people with how he took a few steps back. 

 

He walked up to a couple and you could barely hear him ask something, his voice was muffled by his full-face mask and from being so far away from the camera. When the person he talked to gave him an answer, it was apparently one that the red and black figure didn’t seem to like. So he said good-bye and leaped away, swinging away from the crowd. 

 

Billy and Freddy stared at the tv screen, their mouths hanging open. Freddy sighed and plopped down on the couch, reaching for his bag of chips. 

 

“Well, looks like you gotta go.” the raven said as he stuffed a couple of Doritos in his mouth. Billy got up from his spot on the couch and shuffled over to the door still clutching his beef jerky. 

 

“Ugh, I really don’t want to.”

 

“I know, bud. But you gotta go check out what that dude wants. Think he’s related to the Doctor dude?”

 

“No clue.” Billy said as he shrugged on his red hoodie.”See you later fucker.” he said to Freddy as he walked out the door. 

 

* * *

 

Peter was in deep shit. There was no other way to say it. He was. 

 

After defeating Mysterio and getting everything back to normal, Peter was beginning to finally relax. The tears between dimensions were beginning to close and everything was going back to normal. But just when he was starting to hope that he could go back on his vacation and hang out with MJ and Ned and enjoy his trip, a tear opened up right next to him and sucked him through. 

 

The void between worlds was a lot different than he expected. There was an abyss of black with thousands upon thousands of strings of color and light threading through it. It reminded Peter of a giant spider web. And before he could do anything, he was thrown into another tear and landed on his back in the middle of an alley. 

 

The teen groaned in pain and hissed through his teeth. Because landing on your back was never a pleasant experience. Especially if it was on top of cold cement and next to a dumpster. It wasn’t Peter’s first time, but it was still gross. With his back cracking and his arms aching, Peter stood up from the pavement. He leaned against the dumpster (ew) and tried to catch his breath. 

 

Once the teen regained enough strength, he walked out onto the sidewalk and took in the sight. He was in a large city. The buildings gleamed silver, cars honked and drove past, the sun shined brightly, and a cold breeze drifted by. But something felt...wrong. The air he breathed was wrong the buildings looked wrong, the car horns sounded wrong, everything was just wrong! Peter couldn’t really explain it, and for a brief second, he wondered if this is what Mysterio felt when he first came to his world. 

 

Peter began to walk down the street, looking for a place to change into his suit quickly. He needed to find out where he was and figure out anything and everything about this world he could. And he needed to do it as soon as possible. Peter shook his head and felt his hair raise on his arms as his spidey sense went off, and a car drove past him honking loudly. The teen groaned and continued on his way. He hated how sometimes his spider-sense would just go off for whatever reason and give him so much anxiety. Like honestly, it was just obnoxious how many times Peter panicked just because someone spilled their drink or threw a paper airplane. 

 

The teen was walking by an electronics store, considering the decision about whether or not to walk inside and check out the stuff. Maybe he could make an interdimensional transmitter of some kind? But as smart as Peter was, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how something like that would work. Or how it works. He was still in high school of course and while he was still really smart. He wasn’t smart enough just yet. 

 

Peter sighed in defeat and began to shuffle away when something flashed in the corner of his eye. His head whipped around to see what had piqued his interest, and to his surprise saw a television showing a news channel. Which showed a picture of a man in a bright red suit, gold boots, belt, and gauntlets, a white billowing cape, and a glowing lightning emblem on his chest. 

 

It was a superhero.  

 

Peter picked up his pace into a run and took off for the closest dark alley he could find. If there were superheroes in this world, then maybe, just maybe, his situation wasn’t entirely hopeless. 

 

Luckily he was in his civvies when he got sucked through the tear, so he had his backpack on him. He always had his backpack on him. Sneaking into the alley, Peter began to take off his shoes and clothes. He unzipped his bag and pulled out the new Spider-man suit, the one he had made himself. The teen smiled when he saw it. Peter pulled on the suit and shoved his clothes into his backpack, taking the spot where his suit had once been. 

 

“Hello Peter,” a soft female voice said. “How are you doing today? Did you tell MJ how you feel yet?” Peter scoffed, a smile growing on his face at the familiarity of the voice. 

 

“Yeah I did, it turned out pretty well actually. But right now we have something bigger, Karen.” 

 

Peter rolled his shoulders before jumping up. High. With his backpack back on his shoulders and tightened so that it wouldn’t flail around, the teen began jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Running across the tops of buildings and building up momentum before he leaped off the ledge of one roof. The familiar sound of webs shooting out of his wrist greeted his ears and the tug on his shoulder making Peter feel better. Since getting spider powers his anxiety had gotten worse. But swinging around always made him feel better, it was always therapeutic to him and there was nothing better in the world, (or worlds) than the thrill of swinging from building to building feeling weightless. 

 

Peter, now Spider-man, thwipped through the city looking for the red-clad man. He had been too excited about the idea of superheroes being in this world, that he didn’t even bother to check out the hero's name on the tv. A typical Parker mistake. But that wasn’t going to stop him from finding him. From the looks of it on the tv, the hero could fly, so maybe if Peter swung around just long enough he could run into him. 

 

Hopefully not literally.    

 

But Peter remembered that he didn’t have enough web-fluid to last him all day. He cursed internally as he remembered that he hadn’t been able to make more after his encounter with Mysterio. So that meant he didn’t have a whole lot left. He would have to change his plan then. 

 

“Hey, Karen?” Peter asked his AI. “Think you could tap into social media and figure out who that superhero is? I need to find him so a name would be great, thanks.” 

 

“Sure thing, Peter.” she was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “It appears that he is very popular on social media, primarily on Youtube and even has a Spotify account. Although there is no specific name he uses. They range in a wide variety and no one knows what to truly call him.”   

 

The spider-ling swung onto an office building window and stuck to it, promptly startling the workers inside. “Wait, this guy has a Youtube account?! What does he even do?”

 

Karen pulled up a video of the superhero flicking a metal can. “Apparently he demonstrates his powers for his viewers and fans.” 

 

Peter read the caption for the video. “Captain Sparklefingers?” He asked skeptically.

 

“Yes,” Karen replied. “He is also known as Captain Thunder, Red Cyclone, Power Boy, Mr. Philadelphia, Maximum Voltage, and Thundercrack.” 

 

The teen hummed. “That last one sounds like a butt thing,” he mumbled. “Well is there anything that can help me find him?” 

 

“I could try running an algorithm of all the places he’s been, how long it took for him to get there, and try to create a radius of his most common sightings if that’ll help.” 

 

Peter nodded. “Yes Karen, that’ll definitely help. And while we’re at it, send out Droney, having an eye in the sky will help for sure. How long will the algorithm take?” 

 

“A few minutes.” 

 

“Great, well until then, I’ll just do things the old fashioned way.” Peter pushed off the window and shot a web to the closest building, swinging away. He flew past a few buildings before seeing a park and nice looking plaza. Where to better start than a crowd of people. Spidey spun around a lamp post and landed on the concrete, his feet hitting the ground hard, and he shrugged on his bag. Peter looked around, taking in the sight of the nice looking city and how clean it was. Something pressed lightly on his chest and Peter looked down just in time to see Droney take off into the blue sky, a little buzzing following the little robot. 

 

Damn it, it was cute. 

 

If the superhero’s multiple names were anything to go by, then Peter guessed that he was in this universes Philadelphia. The teen suddenly thought about the time he finally learned how ‘Pennsylvania’ was spelled. He always thought it was ‘Pencilvania’ and not ‘Penezylavalia’ or whatever it was, but hey, what else was an eight-year-old supposed to think. He saw a couple staring at him in surprise, and without fully thinking Peter approached them.  

 

“Hey, do you guys know where I can find this Mr. Philadelphia guy? It’s really important.” 

 

The couple stared at him dumbly and the two women shook their heads. “Uhm, uh, sorry. We don’t.” one of them said. 

 

Peter sighed and his shoulders drooped. He began to back away and shrugged his shoulders, noticing all of the people that began to surround him and take videos. Peter felt his throat close up and his hands feel clammy. “Okay, well uhm, thanks!” he said as he thwipped to another building. He swung around for a bit, asking various people about where he could find the city’s resident hero when Karen spoke up.

 

“Peter, the algorithm’s ready.” the AI said before pulling up a map of the city, red dots everywhere on the screen, each one representing a superhero sighting. The radius was fifty miles. The young avenger sighed loudly. 

 

This was going to be harder than he thought.       

 

* * *

 

Billy munched on the beef jerky he brought as he walked down the sidewalk. 

 

He wasn’t really in a hurry, because if the red and black guy he saw on TV was just like Doctor Strange, then that meant he wasn’t going anywhere without meeting him. It had been about a month or so since Billy first met the strange (pun intended) magician, and since then he has made multiple visits. Or if you can call creating a portal and then tossing something through it a visit. Because every once in a while, the sorcerer would create portals and just drop things off for Billy. 

 

Mainly they would be magic books to read up on or some kind of artifact for the teen, but he always checked in on Billy. One time the doctor even gave him a weird looking double ring and a small book of some kind. The old man really wasn’t kidding when he said that it took years of studying and learning to do magic. And while Billy was hesitant to read all of the books, Freddy was absolutely ecstatic when he saw them and had started reading the writings immediately. Even if they weren’t for him specifically. 

 

But the brunet always came around to reading them or at least skimming them, and because of the books, Billy was able to learn a lot about the magic world. Although most of the words didn’t make a lot of sense to him, since they were phrased really weirdly, but the points they made still got across. 

 

The Rock of Eternity was mentioned many times, as was Mamaragan and the powers of Shazam, and the brunet was able to learn a little bit about the multiverses, so it was all good. And Billy was just starting to get around to try out the sling-ring when Strange dropped off another book, one about astral projection! He was super excited to try that out soon. 

 

Maybe it could make a good Youtube video?

 

And yeah, aside from throwing things through dimensions, the doctor came to visit occasionally. He would sit Billy down and tell him about the mystic arts or the magical dimensions throughout the multiverse, and while the idea of more school annoyed Billy, the idea of it being about  _ magic  _ made it bearable. And then if there was a chance, Billy would distract the sorcerer and get him to tell him some stories from his dimension. But Strange wouldn’t delve into it too much, he was too professional for that, but he would give Billy some kind of snippet about his universe every once in a while, just to sate the teen’s curiosity. 

 

There was one time when Freddy had actually  _ met  _ Doctor Strange, and oh man, that was a roller coaster. The raven asked question after question about his magic, its limits, what it could do, and the superhero enthusiast practically passed out from excitement when the cloak came off of Strange’s shoulders and gave him a hug. 

 

Billy was pretty sure Freddy’s mind broke as he stood there with the cloak wrapped around him in its hug, and wearing the biggest smile on his face and squeaking in happiness.      

 

And while having mystic books was awesome, hiding the books and rings was a whole other problem entirely. Because Rosa would sometimes come in unannounced and drop off their clean laundry, so it became a normal occurrence for one of them to throw the books under their bed or bed sheets when she came into their room. They both agreed that they needed a secure place to hide the mystical artifacts.

 

Which is why Billy began to think of ways to effectively hide his new books as he walked into an alley to turn into the Shazam. He set down the jerky away from him before the magic lightning hit the teen. He was not going to destroy an entire bag of jerky. The now-adult hero began to float off the ground and he took the skies eating his snack. 

 

The video showed the red-black guy swinging around downtown Philly, so maybe if Billy was lucky enough, he’d still be there looking for him. And if not, well Billy was pretty sure there was a tracking spell somewhere in Strange’s books.   
  


The hero floated above the city, white cape fluttering in the wind and golden gauntlets shining in the summer sun, and he looked down on the rooftops and in between the buildings. If he was to find this mysterious person, the best place to start would be the rooftops. Because apparently there was a superhero memo that went out that you were supposed to always be on rooftops in you were a superhero, and Billy didn’t get it.

 

He flew lazily between buildings, munching on his snack and waving to people in the skyscrapers when he heard a weird buzzing sound. Billy turned around curiously and looked for the source of the buzzing. It didn’t take very long before a huge-ass bug smacked him in the face and Billy sputtered in disgust. 

 

“Eweeweweweweweww big bug, big bug, big bug!” he exclaimed as he tried to smack the bug. But it kept swerving away from him, dodging his huge adult hands and chirping at him. Almost like it was laughing. But Billy stopped trying to hit the insect when he saw that it wasn’t like any kind of bug he had seen. It was too stiff while it flew and its legs moved weird. The hero stilled his hand and narrowed his eyes at the thing, examining the little, big bug. And his eyes widened in surprise when he saw that it wasn’t a bug, but actually, a drone that  _ looked  _ like a bug! 

 

Billy leaned in close to the curious thing and pointed at it, his eyes wide and mouth agape. This was the coolest drone he had ever seen! The teen laughed at the little thing and it chirped at him.

 

“Hey there little guy!” he said to it. “Aren’t you cool!” 

 

The thing ‘looked’ at him for a solid second, before suddenly zipping away, a little buzzing left behind in its wake. 

 

“Hey wait!” Billy called after it as he began to fly after the little drone. It was a fast little bugger if Billy was being honest, but it wasn’t faster than the Speed of Mercury. 

 

Billy put on a whole bunch of speed and shot ahead of the little drone, and smirked when he came to stop a couple of yards in front of it. 

 

The drone kept zooming towards him and Billy smiled as he saw it come closer and closer to him. But at the last second, the thing swerved and turned away from Billy. The teen yelped and flew after it, trying to regain the speed he lost. He flew closer and closer to the darn thing, just about to grab it with his arm reached out, when all of a sudden, something hit his chest and dragged him down.

 

Billy shouted in surprise, and he vaguely heard another shout below him. His beef jerky flew out of his hand and Billy was surprised to see that he had been holding onto it this whole time. The red-clad hero fell a couple more feet before leveling off, steadily hovering above a building’s rooftop. The teen held his head, trying to shake off the sudden whiplash and head rush he got from whatever dragged him down. And speaking of which, Billy still felt something pulling on him. He glanced down at his chest and was shocked to see this weird sticky white substance stuck to him. 

 

“What the hell?” he asked. He poked the stuff and instantly recoiled at how sticky and slimy it felt. 

 

He was also surprised to see that white stuff acted as a rope, seeing as how it was holding onto something. 

 

Or more accurately, someone was holding onto it.

 

His eyes trailed down the white stuff, and Billy’s eyes widened when he saw the one person he was looking for was attached to the white stuff, also looking at Billy with his mask eyes wide. The red and black suited man held onto the white rope and awkwardly shifted one of his hands and waved to Billy.

 

“Hey.”   

 

Billy crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. “You owe me another bag of beef jerky, you know.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter should be up soon so stay tuned for what happens next! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and honestly, my favorite bit was Freddy being hugged by Strange's cloak. Would someone please draw that? I would love it.


	17. Spiders and Beef Jerky Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy and Peter have a chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry if this took too long, I had trouble coming up with the direction I wanted to take this. I hope you all enjoy!!

"So who exactly are you and what the hell do you want with me?" Billy asked once he and the red-black guy were safely standing on a rooftop. Since their disastrous encounter, Billy knew that the only way he was going to know anything, was talking to the guy. And it's safe to say that it was surprising, to see how relieved the red guy was when he saw Billy. The brunet literally saw his shoulders drop in relief, and his eyebrow quirked at that. 

 

The red-black guy breathed in another gulp of air. "Hi, yes, nice to meet you Mr. Philadelphia Cyclone Thundercrack Voltage sir. I'm Spider-man, nice to meet you and you see sir I really need your help." 

 

Billy visibly shuddered. It was weird having someone, who was obviously older than him, call him "mister" and "sir". He didn't like it at all. 

 

"Mr. Cyclone?" The newly named Spider-man said. Billy shuddered again. 

 

"Okay, let's get one thing straight," Billy stated. "Do not...EVER… call me 'sir' or 'mister' again. It's just, super weird, so please don't." 

 

Spider-man nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, si-, mis-," the teen stuttered. The man paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts, and opened his big mouth once more. "Sorry, I'll try to not say that. Anyway, what I was saying was… I need your help."

 

Billy crossed his arms. “Why?” 

 

The man fidgeted and began pacing back and forth. It was like he didn’t know what to do with himself and the pacing and nervousness was starting to get to Billy the longer he watched Spider-man pace. The Champion’s heroic demeanor began to crumble and the teen started rubbing his hands anxiously. 

 

“Okay, so, I don’t know how to say this without sounding batshit crazy, but...I’m from another dimension and I need your help getting back!” Spider-man blurted out. Billy stared into the man’s white eyes and felt exhaustion creep up his shoulders. The teen bowed his head and sighed in annoyance. 

 

“Really? Again? This is happening again!?” Billy groaned. Spider-man looked at him funny.  “Ugh, why can’t I just have one Day of Chill. Like, honestly that’s all I ask! First, it was with the Doctor Strange dude and the multiverse chat, and that was honestly okay if you forget about the part where he pushed my soul from my body, but other than that he was cool! And now you’re here and I don’t know how to make those kinds of portals just yet so-”

 

“Wait wait wait wait wait, hold on a second!” Spider-man shouted, waving his hands. Billy shut up and looked at the black-suited man, a little annoyed that he was interrupted mid-rant. “You know Mr. Doctor Strange!?” he exclaimed. 

 

Billy’s annoyance evaporated into curiosity and confusion. “Uhm, uh yeah! I know Doctor Strange. He came by one time and-and we kinda...talked.” 

 

The spider guy’s body language shifted and Billy got the impression that he was both relieved and excited at the same time. Even though he didn’t say anything. His shoulders dropped in relief and he stopped his nervous pacing. Spider-man let out a breathy laugh and angled his head to the sky. 

 

“Oh, this is great. This is awesome! Finally a lucky break!” He turned back to Billy who was looking at him weirdly, and then without hesitating, and before Billy could stop him, he reached up and took off his mask. Brown curls fell down into the man’- teen’s- face and a tired smile lit up his face. Billy felt like shielding his eyes. The dude smiled like the freaking sun. It was annoying.

 

“Dude, what the hell?” Billy exclaimed. The teen’s smile faltered. “You can’t just go around and take off your mask willy nilly! What if people accidentally find out who you are?”  The teen looked at Billy funny. 

 

“Says the guy wearing no mask.”

 

Billy stuttered on his words, “This is….different.” he crossed his arms defensively and childishly.

 

Spider-man smiled and stuck out his hand. “Well whatever, but it’s nice to meet you. I’m Peter by the way. Peter Parker.” Billy stared at the hand for a moment before reaching out and shaking it too. This Peter guy had a strong grip, even for the World’s Mightiest Mortal. 

 

“Billy,” he said. Peter looked at him confusedly and Billy shrugged. “What, you told me your name, it seems fair that I do the same right?” 

 

Peter smiled and let go of Billy’s hand. “So you know Doctor Strange, do you have any way to contact him? Because I really need to get home and I don’t want to be away for longer than I’ve already been. Also, I really wanna get back to my vacation.” Peter said. Billy glanced at the brunet with a funny look before it disappeared in a flash. 

 

“Uhm, uh no,” Billy said. “I don’t know how to contact him. He just kinda pops up whenever it’s convenient for him, you know? But uh-uh vacation huh?” 

 

Peter nodded, suddenly looking a little disappointed. “Yeah, I was on vacation. In Europe no less!” the teen sighed and walked over to the ledge, sitting down on top of it. “And I was with the girl that I liked and I had my best friend and I had just saved the world again, and… I was finally getting a break from all of this superhero stuff.” Billy walked over and sat next to Peter. “But then  _ this  _ happened and now....who knows when I’ll get home.”   

 

“Yeah, dude I get it.” Billy mumbled. Peter turned to stare at the other superhero. “Believe it or not today was actually supposed to be my relaxing day. The Day of Chill I called it. Just me, my brother, a bunch of junk food, and an entire season of Doctor Who. We originally had planned for it a month or so ago, but that was the same day Strange came over and paid a visit.”

 

“Oof,”

 

“Yeah! And then  _ today  _ we were gonna try it again, but guess what? The news showed you on screen and I just had to come check it out.” 

 

Peter tensed at the last sentence and timidly ducked his head, brown hair falling into his eyes. “Uhm, uh, sorry about that.” 

 

Billy’s face fell when he realized what he said. “Oh no, it’s okay dude, uhhh it’s not that big of a deal.” not knowing what to do, Billy awkwardly pat the older teen on the shoulder. Peter looked at him strangely and Billy lifted his hand. He really needed to learn how to read social cues. The Champion cleared his throat and crossed his arms again. 

 

“So, how old are you exactly?”  he asked. Peter rolled his eyes and shrugged. 

 

“I’m seventeen. But don’t judge okay! I know you’re probably gonna say that I’m too young for the superhero business or something like that.” 

 

Billy raised his hands in a peaceful surrendering gesture. “Woah dude, I’m not judging. And if anything,  _ I’m  _ way too young for superhero business. I mean I’m only fif...teen….” Billy’s voice faltered and trailed off as he realized what he was saying, and Peter looked at him in surprise. 

 

_ Come on single brain cell,  _ Billy thought.  _ Think of anything that can fix this.  _ “My birthdays on a leap year?” he tried, hoping that his new superhero bud would buy it.

 

“You’re sixty years old?” Peter asked, not at all buying his cover-up. 

 

“Yes?” Peter gave him a look. “No….I don’t age?..... I have that weird disease that makes you look old!” Peter wasn’t believing any of it. “This is actually a hologram...I’m wearing a mask?... My whole body’s a rubber suit!....I’m actually a telepathic kid who’s controlling the body of an adult right now and my consciousness is inside of his brain…. I’m an alien who grows older, faster than the average human!”  _ This isn’t working. Thanks a lot single brain cell, you sure helped.  _

 

Billy sighed in defeat and bowed his head. “None of those work do they?” 

 

Peter shrugged, “I actually might’ve believed that last one if you didn’t try all of those other ones before it.”        

“Dammit,” Billy hissed. He really needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut. He either has his guards up or he doesn’t and it was getting really easy to act so casual around other superheroes. Especially those close to his real age.

 

“So how exactly how you fifteen? You look thirty.” Peter asked curiously. Billy shrugged. 

 

“Honestly? An old wizard brought me to a temple and made me say Shazam,” the teen was suddenly and unexpectedly struck with a golden bolt of lightning and Billy coughed as he waved away the smoke the bolt solicited. Peter had been so startled by the transformation that he fell off of his spot and was now sticking to the side of the building, a surprised and scared look on his face. And he stared in shock as he saw that the big and shiny superhero he had seen on TV had been replaced with a scrawny kid with brown hair and green eyes and casual wear. 

 

Billy waved away the last of the smoke and gestured for Peter to come back up. The spider person hesitantly crawled back to his spot on the ledge. 

 

“Holy shit! What the heck was that!?” he exclaimed. Billy smiled and laughed.  

 

“That was just the thing that happens every time I say Shaz-, -zoom.” Billy said, catching himself. “But anyway, some wizard gave me these powers and that’s basically how I can turn into an adult. But what about you? How did you become sticky?” 

 

Peter sent Billy a glance and scoffed. “Okay, as weird as that was put, I actually got my powers from being bit by a spider.” 

 

Billy stared at the fellow brunet, waiting for him to continue the story. But when none came, he felt a little disappointed. “Really? That’s it? I give you my fantastic and incredible story about being chosen by a magical wizard and the best you got’s a fucking spider bite?”

 

Peter shrugged. “Well what can I say, there’s nothing glamorous or spectacular about being bit by a spider. One second the spider wasn’t there and the next it was and then I was bit. End of story. Well...not really, I mean I got spider powers so that’s a pretty big deal. Then six months later I met Tony Stark….” Peter froze and stopped talking immediately. Billy noticed him slightly shrinking in on himself and felt the sudden urge to comfort him for some reason. 

 

Man, having a family really did a number on you didn’t it? Because a year ago, Billy wouldn’t have even thought twice about walking away from comforting a friend. But here he was on a rooftop feeling the need to comfort a complete stranger for something that he didn’t even understand. Talk about real life character development. He blames Darla for his newly found sappiness. 

 

“Listen dude,” Billy began. “How about we get you changed into some normal clothes, and then we can get you to someone who can actually help.”

 

Peter looked up at Billy, his gaze questioning. “But you said that you can’t contact Doctor Strange.”

 

Billy shrugged. “Nope, not talking about Doctor Strange. I’m talking about the person who’s read more magic books than I have in my entire life and who knows way more about superheroes and the multiverse theory than I do. And luckily I know that person. I share a room with him after all.” Billy stood up on the ledge and glanced down at the street far below. “Now let’s get going, he’ll be excited to meet you. Trust me.”        

 

Peter stood up and slipped his mask back on. “Okay, where are we going?” 

 

Billy breathed in deeply, steeling his nerves. “Just follow me.” and with that, he stepped off the ledge and fell into a free fall. He heard Peter shout behind him, and spared a glance backwards to see him falling after him as well. The brunet smirked before facing the street again. 

 

“SHAZAM!” He shouted. The familiar lightning struck him again and the magical electricity coursed through his body, turning him back into the Mightiest Mortal. Billy floated to a stop and smiled. It was quiet for a millisecond before a red and black blue shot past him, falling at the speed of sound. 

 

“Oh come oooonnnnnn…….” he heard Peter yell. Billy laughed, and watched as Peter shot out on of those weird sticky strings things and swung from a building. Billy smiled at the figure before shooting off in the direction of his house, looking back every once in a while to make sure his new friend was still following him. 

 

This was certainly going to be interesting. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! I cant wait for Freddy to meet Peter. He's going to be so excited!


	18. Spiders and Beef Jerky Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets Freddy and the three boys try to figure out a way for Peter to get home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo!! Im so happy with this conclusion. I had SO MUCH FUN writing their dialogue and these boys are all just babies who need to be protected.  
> I really hope you guys enjoy this as much as i did

“Hey, are you sure about this?” Peter asked Billy as they walked up to the Vasquez household. Peter had since changed from his spider suit and into his civilian clothes, a blue plaid shirt, white t-shirt, and khakis, and Billy had changed from his super self into his normal fourteen-year-old self. Peter ran a hand through his brown curls and shifted his gaze over everything. To Billy, it looked like he was scanning the place, checking out the vantage points, exits, and entrances. Making sure that the place was safe in case of an unexpected attack. 

 

The brunet looked at the spider person strangely. He was acting like he was expecting an attack and didn’t trust their surroundings. Which seemed odd to Billy, seeing as how he had revealed his identity to him in the same hour he had met the dude. But Billy shrugged and it brushed it aside as the two heroes walked into the house and entered the living room. 

 

Peter instantly stopped and stayed back, hiding behind the wall as Billy found his disabled brother chilling on the couch and munching on M&M’s. 

 

“Heyo Freddy, I’m back.” he said. Freddy turned around.

 

“Oh hey man, how did the red-black dude thing go? Did you figure out what he wanted?” 

 

“Uhm, yeah, turns out he just needs our help.” Billy said. The raven’s eyebrows furrowed and he leaned forward. 

 

“‘Our help’?” he asked. Billy nodded and turned around and gestured for Peter to come forward. The curly-haired brunet walked out from behind the wall, his shoulders loose and his arms close together, and Billy noticed that he was trying to make himself look small and unremarkable. And with a small smile he realized that it was part of Peter’s disguise. True, it wasn’t the normal kind of disguise you’d see. No masks or capes or anything grand like that. But he was wearing a much more subtle mask as Peter Parker. He tried to look small and scrawny and unimportant even if he was one of the strongest people in the room. This Peter Parker was a mask just as much as Spider-man. 

 

“Who’s this?” Freddy asked as he shoved another handful of M&M’s in his mouth. 

 

“This is red-black dude. Or as he calls himself, Spider-Boy!” 

 

Freddy choked on his candy and Peter sighed next to Billy. “It’s Spid-Spider-Man.” he corrected. 

 

Freddy swallowed the chocolate and reached for his crutch, getting up off of the couch and walking towards the pair. And as the raven got up, Billy noticed the look on Peter’s face from the corner of his eye. 

 

He didn’t know Freddy was disabled.

 

And honestly Billy forgot to mention it. But could you blame him if the idea to tell Peter that little fact escaped him? He honestly didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Like, it was just Freddy. Not his poor-disabled-brother, Freddy, but his nerdy-superhero-fanatic-brother Freddy. 

 

Billy nudged Peter with his elbow, and the look in Peter’s eyes vanished. 

 

“You’re the red-black dude?” Freddy asked. Peter shifted his feet. 

“Uhm, uh yeah? But it’s Spider-MAN, not Spider-boy, just to make that clear.”

Freddy narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “Prove it.” he said. Peter’s eyebrows rose. 

“What?”

“Prove it. I wanna see it for myself. And how do we know you’re not some villain who came to this dimension to wreak havoc and cause destruction and destroy everything that’s good in the world? For all we know you could lying to us right now and we’d have no idea. So prove it.”

Peter glanced at Billy, who shrugged. 

“Is this normal?” he asked. 

“Pretty much. The first time I came to him looking like Captain Thunder, he accused me of being a supervillain using telepathic abilities to make him think I was me. He’s just like that.”   
“Okay, first of all,” Freddy said. “There’s no shame in being cautious of superpowered people. And secondly, you’re Captain Sparklefingers! Come on, get it right Billy. It’s not that hard.”

Billy groaned. “Freddy I’ve told you I’m not using that name! It’s stupid, so let it go.”

Peter raised his hand. “Actually I think it’s an awesome name.”

“Really, you too?”

“Hey this is what you get for calling me Spider-Boy,”

“Dude! I’m serious, prove you’re the red-black spider guy, or else imma go all super on your ass and beat you out of here!” Freddy barged in. 

Peter did a double take. “Wait, you have powers too?” he glanced between the two brothers. “How do you both have powers?” 

Billy shrugged, “It’s a really long story. But basically yes, all of my brothers and sisters have the same powers I do. Although they aren’t supposed to use them unless absolutely necessary.”

“But we also use them for Super Jimmy Jab Games.” Freddy mumbled. 

“Freddy,” 

“Okay, as interesting as that sounds,” Peter began,”do you still want me to prove I’m the red-black guy or not?” 

“No, I still want you to prove it.” Freddy said. 

“Oh, okay, just checking.” 

 

Peter walked over to the middle of the living room, with both Freddy and Billy watching him, and casting them a glance over the shoulder, he jumped. His hands touched the ceiling and instantly his fingertips stuck to the plaster. The older teen brought up his feet and they also stuck to the ceiling, making him look like a real life human spider. Peter looked at the boys, his face upside down, and grinned, his smile lopsided. And while Billy had seen him stick to stuff before, It was a little odd seeing him do it out of his suit. But Freddy on the other hand, was absolutely amazed. 

 

He limped over to the middle of the room, mouth hanging wide open, and laughed giddily. 

“Oh my god!” he exclaimed. “Natural adhesive sticking abilities?! Dude that’s sick! What else can you do?” 

 

Peter’s hands let go of the ceiling and he ‘stood up’. It looked like he was standing upright, but actually he was upside down on the ceiling. Freddy looked like he was about to burst from excitement. 

 

“Well I can also shoot webs, although they’re artificial and I have to make them myself, and I have the proportional strength of a spider. Also there’s enhanced reflexes, balance, a healing factor, and spider sense. And that’s about it.”

 

Freddy rushed out of the room, leaving behind a very confused Peter and Billy, but the confusion disappeared when he came back with a notebook and his camcorder. 

 

“Okay, this is so awesome... what’s spider sense? Is it like a power where you can sense where things are?”

 

Peter jumped down from the ceiling and landed on the couch. He grabbed one of the sodas sitting on the coffee table and cracked it open. Freddy sat next to him quickly and opened up a blank page, pen at the ready. 

 

“Well, actually spider sense is more of a precognitive warning sense. If there’s any kind of danger, then the hair on my arms rise and there’s a ringing in my head, and then BOOM, danger happens. But it’s not always helpful. Sometimes it goes off when there’s like a puddle on the floor or if someone’s shooting a spitball at another person or something stupid like that. It’s like I’m in a constant state of anxiety.”

 

Freddy’s pen was blurring across the page as he tried to write down everything Peter said. His handwriting starting to look like an alien language by the time he finished his first paragraph. The older teen smiled as he watched the superhero enthusiast jot down everything. Freddy looked up from his notes, a manic gleam in his eyes. 

 

_ Oh no,  _ Both Peter and Billy thought. 

 

“Okay, what else? How much weight can you lift? If you have the proportional strength of a spider, is that a lot? What other spider attributes do you have? Do you have venom? Or fangs? Do you lay eggs? Can you grow extra limbs if you wanted to? Can you control spiders if you tried hard enough? Can you communicate with spiders? Do you ever feel like eating flies or other small bugs? What about webs? Do you sleep in a web hammock instead of a bed? Do you have a lair? We have a lair, it’s pretty sick. Even if it is surrounded by creepy stone statues and a giant cave. What about your dimension? What’s it like? What’s different? What’s similar? Do you have other superheroes? How old are you? When did you first get your powers? How fast is your healing factor? Are we talking seconds or minutes here? Are you the only spider-powered person in your universe? Come on man, answer me! Give me something here, I need answers!” 

 

Peter stared at Freddy, his brown eyes wide. At first, he thought the questions were endearing, but now that it was a full on superpower interview, he had no idea how to go about and answer him.  

 

“Uhm….my name’s Peter Parker?” he said. “I’m seventeen? And I have superpowers?”        

 

Freddy sighed. “Oh hey nice to meet you I’m Freddy Freeman. And alright fine, you don’t wanna tell me, you don’t have to tell me. And hey we all have alliterative names. It’s cool, it’s fine, yeah it’s fine it’s cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcooolcoolcoolcoolcool.” 

 

“Freddy,” Billy said. “You can chill okay? We still need to help him out. You can ask questions later, but right now, we gotta figure out how to get him home.” 

 

Peter breathed a sigh of relief and Freddy grumbled. “Fine, okay.” the raven set aside his camera and notebook and leaned back in the couch. “If you wanna get home, why don’t we pull a Doctor Strange and make a sparkly portal?”

 

Billy walked over and sat on the couch too, sitting next to Peter. “Well, that won’t really work, because one, I haven’t gotten around to making portals yet. You keep stealing my books and won’t give them back till you’re done reading them. So I haven’t gotten around to practicing portals yet. And two, even if I were to make a portal, I have no idea what Peter’s dimension looks like, so how can I picture a place I’ve never seen?” 

 

“Mhhm, good point, good point. Well lucky for us, I’ve read all of the books, and I know how to make portals. So that solves the first problem, but you’re right about the second. But what if we just used the doors back at the Rock? I’m sure we can find his world like that.” 

 

Billy shook his head. “No, there are too many doors. We can’t check all of them. And if each leads to a different dimension, then that means there are infinite doors. No way, we’d be able to check all of them.”

 

Peter stayed quiet as the two brothers talked. He knew next to nothing about magic, but if he was to go by the way they were talking, he’d guess that they knew enough to help. But by the sounds of it, they were having trouble coming up with something. The pair went silent for a moment before Freddy snapped his fingers. 

 

“Tracking spell.” he said. Billy and Peter looked at him confusedly. 

“How would a tracking spell help?” Billy asked. 

“Well, theoretically, we could use Peter to find it.”

“What?” Peter said. “How?”  

Freddy sighed. “Well for a tracking spell to work, you would usually need to have something of a person’s belonging or DNA or something like that to help track the person or thing you’re finding. For example, say that there was a scarf that belonged to a missing woman. All you would need to do is put the spell on the scarf and then it’d lead you to the woman. But if we were to use Peter as the belonging, then he would lead us to the right door and dimension.”

 

Billy and Peter glanced at each other, pondering over Freddy’s idea. 

“That could actually work.” Billy said with Peter nodding. “What do you think?” 

Peter narrowed his eyes and stared at nothing, obviously thinking about the idea. “Well,” he began. “It’s the only option we got. So why not?” 

 

* * *

 

Peter, Billy, and Freddy all stood inside of the Rock of Eternity, gazing at all of the doors inside the enormous cave. There really were a lot of them. 

“Monsters Inc. anyone?” Peter said sarcastically. Freddy huffed a laugh and then turned to the mystic arts book in his hands. He opened up the old book and began flipping through the pages while Billy and Peter awkwardly stood there in silence. 

“Man, you guys weren’t kidding when you said it was a creepy cave.” Peter said. 

“Nope. The first time I came here I thought it was a prank. I took the subway and it just dropped me off here.” 

“Seriously?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Man, that’s crazy.”

“I know right? The wizard was so inconsiderate when he teleported me here. And then he dropped me back on the subway after I transformed into Captain Thunder, so literally, I was a giant dude in red spandex in a cape and I looked like an idiot. And I had no idea what was happening! It was like that meme of that dude doing a peace sign and then vanishing. That’s basically what happened.”

“Geez, that must’ve sucked.”

“Guys, will you be quiet? I’m trying to figure out a way to put a tracking spell on a person so that he can lead us to his dimension door and go back home! It’s not as easy as it sounds!” Freddy snapped at the other two. 

Billy and Peter instantly shut up, sharing a look, before going back to doing nothing. But it didn’t last long before Peter started the conversation again. 

“Hey Billy, if you’re ever having a rough time superheroing and need a break, you could always come over to my dimension and hang out. I know this great place in Queens that serves the best deli sandwiches and if you ever want a chance to just get away you’re welcome to come over. Although let me finish my vacation first, then you can come over.”

 

“Oh hey thanks, man! That’d be awesome. Never been in a different dimension before, so that’ll be fun.”

 

“GUYS!” Freddy exclaimed. The two boys shut up again, and silence overtook them as they waited for Freddy to find what he needed. After a few minutes, he looked up and gave them a nod.

 

“Alright, found it. Peter you ready? Got everything? Make sure you don’t forget anything over here, otherwise it’d be hard to get it back to you and I’d keep it as a souvenir. So you’d never get it back.” 

Peter nodded and slung his backpack onto his shoulders, with his spider suit inside. “Yup, got it. Well, it’s been great meeting you Billy and Freddy.” Peter stuck out his hand. “Till next time.”

Freddy scoffed. “Yeah maybe next time we’ll be more prepared for this. And ditto. Although I wished you answered my questions.”

“Dude, you were spitting out questions faster than Darla can run!” Billy exclaimed. 

“Okay, fine. I was a little excited!”

“A little!?” 

“Shut up, just, fine whatever. Bye Peter, it was great meeting you and I hope you have a great time in alternate dimension Queens with your deli sandwiches.” Peter snorted. “Let’s do this.”

 

Freddy set down the book on a ledge in the cave and began balancing on his good leg since he needed both hands to perform the spell. His hands moved in mirroring motions and then with a snap of Freddy’s fingers, Peter was enveloped in a bright golden glow. 

 

“Oh shit!” Peter exclaimed, but Freddy paid him no attention as he kept working on the spell. The raven finished with a wave of one his hands and then before any of them could guess what was happening, Peter shot off. 

 

“Fuck!” Freddy yelled as he reoriented himself and he and Billy started running after their new glowing friend. They heard a loud smack and froze for a moment before continuing their running. They followed the faint light and weaved between doors and stone pillars till they found Peter lying in front of a fancy looking green door. The spiderling rubbing his head and wincing as if he had just been hit in the face. Which is probably what happened. 

 

“Found it.” Peter mumbled. 

 

Billy and Freddy caught up to the curly-haired brunet and Billy helped Peter up to his feet. They both looked at the green door and Billy noticed how it seemed to resonate with a magic similar to Doctor Strange’s. This was the door that would lead Peter back home. 

“Whelp,” Freddy said. “Here it is. The doorway that’ll lead you home. Man, I can’t believe the tracking spell thing worked. What do you know? I honestly wasn’t so sure if it would work. Because so many things could’ve gone  _ seriously  _ wron-” Billy glared at his brother. “But that’s not relevant right now! Because everything turned out fine!”      

Peter scoffed a laugh and turned to Billy. “Thanks Billy, I really owe you one. And if you’re ever in my universe’s Queens, just look up your friendly neighborhood Spider-man!” 

“You got it, Peter.” Billy said.  

The Avenger smiled and turned to the green door, reaching for the door knob, and opening the door to find a very fancy, museum, looking room. It was full of glass cases with artifacts and slick, polished wood floors and tables. Old books looking exactly like the one Freddy used cased the shelves and magic reverberated from the room. 

 

Peter stepped through the door and turned to his new friends, a bright smile on his face. “Bye guys! See you later!” 

And just like that, the door slammed shut and Peter was gone. Billy and Freddy stared at the door for a long moment. And then a thought hit Billy. 

  
  
  


 

“That motherfucker didn’t replace my beef jerky!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that concludes the second Marvel cross over!!! I really hope you all liked it, and until next time!


	19. Maple Syrup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who wouldve guessed that Freddy Freeman knew how to cook?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent next to no time editing this, but still i had so much fun with it. I originally planned for an angsty fic, but im too good of a mood. I just got a new hoodie thaf looks EXACTLY like Billy's and im just too happy.   
> So because of my good mood, i wrote a fun and happy fic.   
> Hope you guys enjoy it!

Billy woke up from his sleep with a jolt. Coughing and sputtering, he sat up in bed and wiped his face. He had been sleeping peacefully, and was actually having a very good dream, when Trashcan all of a sudden decided that it’d be a fun idea to jump on her human’s face. Billy rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at the black and white cat. She gave an innocent meow, as if she didn’t know what she just did. Billy gave her a look and Trashcan stared back with wide blue eyes. The brunet shook his head and thought  _ Stupid cat  _ before throwing off his bed covers and jumping down onto the wooden floor with a quiet thump. 

 

The little cat followed his lead and landed on the floor too. It looked up at the brunet expectantly, and being the spoiling human that he was, Billy scooped up the cat in his arms and walked out of his room to head down to breakfast. 

 

Someone was making something and it smelled absolutely wonderful. 

 

The house was filled with a warm aroma that just seemed to envelope Billy, and the brunet breathed in the scent happily. And absentmindedly scratching Trashcan’s ears, he skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen, expecting to see Rosa or Victor at the stove cooking up something wonderful. 

 

But to his surprise...it was Freddy. 

 

The raven-haired boy didn’t turn to look at Billy, his attention lying elsewhere with a mixing bowl, a bunch of ingredients, and a lot of other stuff. Billy’s eyes narrowed in confusion. What on earth was Freddy doing? Billy set down Trashcan on the ground and walked into the kitchen fully. 

 

“Hey Freddy? Whatcha doing?” His presence was finally noticed by his foster brother and Freddy turned around once he heard Billy speak. Billy noticed how he let out a sigh of relief when he saw him and he also noticed how his pajama shirt and pants had flour dusted all over it, and how his hair was an utter mess. 

 

“Oh thank goodness Billy, you’re here. Morning fucker, I need help.” he said. He limped over to the brunet and grabbed his arm gently, leading him to one of the counters that apparently had a baking dish on it. It sat next to the mixing bowl and Billy saw how the bowl had weird yellow, goopy mixture in it. Batter. 

 

“Listen I need you to hold the bowl over the dish while I scrape the batter out of it, okay? ‘Cause I can’t do it, obviously.” 

 

“Oh, uhm, okay?” Billy agreed hesitantly. He didn’t really know what was happening, all the information he had so far was that Freddy was cooking and that he needed help cooking. Both of which were concepts that Billy wasn’t familiar with.   

 

The brunet held the large mixing bowl over the pan and let the goopy batter pour out of it and into the baking dish, while Freddy took a rubber spatula and began scraping the inside, getting all of the batter into the pan. Once all of it was gone, Billy set the bowl down and stepped aside for Freddy. 

 

“Great, thanks Billy! I appreciate it.” 

“Uhm, no problem… What exactly are you making?” Billy asked. Freddy cast him a glance, and a smile flickered over his lips. 

“Oh, uh, making breakfast.” the raven answered. 

“Why?” Billy asked. 

 

Freddy turned around and opened the oven door. He ignored Billy as he placed the baking dish on one of the racks and closed up the hot oven. “Because I want to.” he explained. “But,” he began, “I overestimated myself. So could you help? I would love it if you could slice up the strawberries over there and make the syrup. It’s simple, I’ll tell you the ratio and I can work on the bacon and coffee while the cornbread’s baking. You know where the knife drawer is.” 

 

Freddy walked over to the stove and began opening up the bacon. And Billy stood where he was, a little confused and out of it. Since when did Freddy, of all people, know how to cook!?

Shrugging and shaking his head, the brunet walked over to the drawer and pulled out a small, sharp knife. He went over to the counter with the strawberries and took out a big, red one.  

 

“How do you want them sliced?” Billy asked. 

“Just normal thin slices, you know?” 

 

Billy made a face and nodded. He placed the berry on the cutting board and began slicing it thinly and evenly. He wasn’t much of a chef or a cook or whatever, but slicing strawberries were simple enough for him. And since he had spent the past ten years always on the move, on the streets, or with foster homes that didn’t care to cook or didn’t know how to cook, the most Billy had ever come to developing culinary skills was how to cook an egg. It was like the only thing he knew how to do. 

 

But everything else like chicken, steak, pasta, cake, pastry, breakfast, and dinner, he had no clue how to go about. If the concept was simple enough for Billy to figure out, like slicing strawberries, he could do it just fine. But if you asked him to do something a bit more technical than an egg, he would utterly fail spectacularly. 

Which is why while he was cutting strawberries and placing them in a bowl, something Freddy said came back to him, and he stopped slicing.

 

“Wait,” he said, eyebrows furrowing, “ _ Make  _ the syrup?” 

He turned around to look at Freddy who spared him a glance from cooking the bacon.

“Yeah. It’s a simple recipe, and as long as you remember the ratio you’ll be fine.” he turned back to the pan moved the bacon around. Billy began to freak out a little bit. He’s  _ never  _ heard of making your own syrup. Why couldn’t they use the bottle in their cupboard? There was a reason there were corporate franchises based around making and selling maple syrup, and that was because it was easier!

“Why don’t we use the stuff in the cupboard?” Billy asked lightly, hoping that Freddy would let them use that instead of having Billy make the actual thing. But much to the brunet’s dismay, Freddy scoffed. 

“Please, I’m not using that stuff. That stuff’s gross! Trust me, homemade maple syrup is way better.” 

Billy swallowed. “Okay,” he said. “Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool.” 

 

Billy finished slicing up the strawberries and he set the bowl aside. He leaned on the counter and rubbed his hands nervously. “Alright,” he said. “So...how do I make syrup?”  

 

Freddy took the bacon off the stove and using a fork began placing the strips of meat on a paper towel, allowing all the grease to drain. “Get a saucepan out, and get the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and mapleine. Put one cup of water in the pan, two cups of sugar, and ¼ cup of brown sugar in and put the stove on medium high hea-”

 

“Okay, Freddy?” Billy said, interrupting Freddy’s instructions. His raven-haired brother turned to look at him. “How about you show me what to do? Because I don’t cook and I’m definitely not gonna remember all of that."

 

Freddy hit his forehead. “Oh right duh, how could I forget that.” he limped over to one of the cupboards and took out a saucepan. “Well, like I said it’s simple, it doesn’t take a lot of cooking knowledge to make syrup. Could you grab the ingredients?” 

 

“Sure,” Billy complied. He gathered all of the stuff, with some reminding from Freddy and placed it all on a counter. Freddy filled up the saucepan with the water and he put it on the stove as he returned to his own tasks. He filled up the kettle with water and began grinding up some coffee beans. Billy stood next to Freddy and he followed the instructions he gave, asking a question here or there for clarification. 

 

“Make sure that the sugar is completely melted, and that you don’t overcook it. You don’t want to accidentally caramelize the syrup.”

“This is how you make caramel?” Billy asked.

“Eh, kind of. Vaguely. Not entirely. Same concept, but whatever. And then once the stuff is clear through, take it off the heat and add the vanilla and mapleine. One teaspoon of each. And then it’ll be done!” 

“Huh, thanks Freddy.” 

“No problem Billy.”

 

Billy stirred the concoction on the pan for a moment before becoming curious. “So, where did you learn how to cook? I’ve never seen you do this before.” 

 

Freddy shrugged next to him and dumped his coffee grounds in a French press. Billy wondered where the glass container came from since he’s never seen it before now. “Eh, I’ve just kind of picked up on stuff. Rosa’s helped me out a lot, but mostly I just kinda taught myself. Lots of trial and error you know?” Freddy let out a sigh and took off the kettle as it began to whistle. He poured the hot water into the container before placing a weird filter-like thing on top of it. Billy really had no idea how he was making coffee like that. He didn’t even know that there were more ways than one to make coffee without a coffee machine.

 

Once Freddy was done with that, he leaned on the counter, taking in a deep breath. All of his cooking was done and now he was waiting on both Billy and the cornbread to be finished. 

 

“But also, one of the foster homes I went to had me cook and feed everyone. The parents didn’t want to cook or deal with the hastle of it so they just made me do it. You know, like Cinderella. So I was the one in charge of all of it. And I had to learn fast, otherwise…they’d get mad.” Freddy said.  

 

Billy nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I get that.” He stirred the syrup for a little bit longer. “I never really had a chance to learn how to cook. So the best I learned to do was Ramen and frying an egg. And even then it’s questionable.” He gave a smile and Freddy chuckled. 

“Yeah, those things are way too easy.” Freddy said. 

“Uh huh, for you maybe. But I gotta ask, why don’t you cook more often?”  Billy asked. 

The raven shrugged and began wiping the flour off his shirt. “Because sometimes it reminds me of that home. And most of the time I just don’t feel like it. I know how to cook but I’ll only do it when I want to, you know?”

Billy nodded. “Yeah I get it, that makes sense.”

“Yeah.”

“But… who on earth eats cornbread for breakfast?” 

Freddy threw his hands in the air. “I know, I know, I’m weird! I’m a weird person. But I like it okay! I eat cornbread for breakfast and it’s hella good! There’s nothing better than good cornbread with melted butter and fresh homemade syrup, and you can’t change my mind. It is the best breakfast ever and I will stand by it till the day I die. But let me ask you this who eats cornbread with soup?”

Billy looked at his brother. “Literally every other normal person in the world.”

Freddy took a strawberry slice from the bowl and threw it at Billy. “Shut up!” 

 

The boys laughed and continued to talk as they waited for the syrup to finish up, and while they were talking they heard tiny, thunderous footsteps run down the stairs and both Billy and Freddy shared a glance. 

 

“Uh oh,” Billy said. 

“She’s awake.” Freddy said with mock fear. 

“GOOD MORNING!” Darla exclaimed as she ran into the kitchen and rammed her little body into Freddy, giving him a massive hug. The raven stumbled backwards and nearly fell over from the sudden impact but thankfully, quickly steadied himself. He returned Darla’s hug and smiled. 

“Morning Darla.” he said.  

“Are you making breakfast today?” the little girl asked hopefully. 

“Yup! Making cornbread with some bacon, strawberries, and coffee.” he said, listing off the meal for the morning. Darla let go of Freddy. 

“Cornbread for breakfast? You’re weird Freddy.” Darla turned to Billy and gave him a blinding smile. “Good morning Billy!” 

The brunet returned her grin. “Hey Darla.” the chocolate-skinned girl rushed over and gave her other brother a hug, who gladly wrapped his free arm around her, and when she saw what Billy was stirring became very interested. 

“Oooh what’re you making?” she asked. 

“Syrup.” he answered. “Hey Freddy can you come check to see if this is done? I can’t tell.”

Freddy popped a strawberry slice in his mouth. “Well is it see through? Can you see the bottom of the spoon?”

Billy checked and nodded when he saw that it was doing exactly what Freddy was saying. 

“Well then take it off and put in the vanilla and mapleine.” the raven-haired boy said. I’ll get you a jar to put it in. And then... _ then  _ you will see that I am right about cornbread being a good breakfast! You will see!” 

 

Billy gave his brother a weird look as he moved from the stove and Darla, and mixed in the last ingredients. The timer on the oven went off and Freddy instantly went over to a drawer to take out the oven mitts. 

“Hey Darla?” Freddy asked. “Think you can get some dishes out for everyone? I’m sure they’ll be up soon.”

“Well of course we’re up,” a voice said from the kitchen door entrance. Billy and Freddy turned to find Victor and Rosa standing in the doorway, a happy look on their faces. “Did you really think you could make all of this good food and not wake anyone up?” Victor said as he smiled and went over to gather plates. Both of the boys smiled and Rosa walked over to take the cornbread from Freddy and began to cut it into small slices. 

 

“Well, better call everyone down. It seems like breakfast is ready.” Rosa said with a smile. 

 

And from there, Billy and Darla got the rest of their siblings and brought them downstairs for breakfast. All of them surprised and a little baffled that they were having a soup side dish for the first meal of the day, and every time someone said something about it, Freddy would groan in annoyance and promise that it was better than they thought.

 

And Freddy was right. Cornbread for breakfast was awesome. 

 

Billy never thought it would work, but somehow for some unknown reason, it  _ does.  _ And the maple syrup was incredible too! And again, just like Freddy said, it was  _ way  _ better than any kind of bottled syrup Billy ever had. The family ate contently, laughing and asking about each other’s plans for the day, and after they were finished eating, they thanked Freddy for making such a wonderful breakfast. And Billy too for helping Freddy. 

 

The smile on the raven’s face said it all. 

 

Everyone cleaned up their plates and following the rules of the house, the ones who didn’t make the food were in charge of dishes. So Freddy and Billy were off the hook. They stayed in their spots at the table, drinking their coffee happily and watching smugly as Mary and Eugene were stuck with dish duty. Pedro had left long before Rosa and Victor could designate who was doing dishes, saying something about a study session with someone, and Darla had left to go get dressed for a play date. So Billy and Freddy chilled while everyone else did their own thing. 

 

They didn’t have anything planned other than video games and going on patrol, so really they had a whole day to waste. 

 

“So,” Billy began, “What do you wanna do today? We have a couple of hours before we have to go on patrol, so you got any ideas?”

Freddy hummed. “No not really, unless you have something on your mind,”

Billy froze, there was one thing he wanted to try today, but he didn’t know if Freddy would be up for it. He was considering what he said earlier about not doing it unless he wanted to. 

“Kind of,” Billy said. Freddy looked at his foster brother, intrigued. 

“What is it?” he asked. Billy chewed on his lip and rubbed his thumb over his mug’s handle. 

“Would you maybe show me how to cook something other than Ramen and an egg?” 

 

Freddy was silent for a second. And then he started laughing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this boy really needs to know how to cook. Like honestly, Billy does.   
> Also, yes the recipe for homemade maple syrup is a real one, i use it all the time and never in my life have i bought a bottle of syrup from the store. The recipe is simple enough, so if you wanna know it just ask in the comments and i'll be glad to tell you guys how to make it.   
> And the cornbread thing is an actual thing i do with my family. We eat it for breakfast. Im weird. So sue me.   
> Anyway, i hope you guys enjoyed this! Because i sure as hell did. Until next time and remember that requests, comments, and kudos are always appreciated. LOVE YOU GUYS.


	20. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy finds out something that Freddy didn't want him to know, and it leads to Freddy telling the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as requested by bigcrofty, here's that fic about Freddy trying to hide his medical treatment from Freddy. I hope you enjoy!   
> And thanks to arithese for helping me get past some of the writing blocks i had!
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, i've had it on my list for a while.

 

 __People hurt each other.  
It happens to everyone.  
Intentionally, unintentionally, regretfully or not.  
It's a part of what we do as human beings.  
The beauty is that we have the ability to heal and forgive  
  


* * *

Billy walked down the sunny street with his guitar case in hand and a big smile on his face.

He had just gotten back from playing his guitar at the coffee shop, the same place where he had first sung and performed, and he had been in a pretty good mood when he realized he had made some money playing.

While he played, he would usually set his case out and sometimes, if he was lucky, someone would give him some tips. The management at the shop knew about this, for Billy had become a regular there, and by some miracle, they gave Billy the green light to go ahead and do it. The customers seemed to like Billy’s playing, so they just let him strum his guitar and whatever money he was given he got to keep. 

It was the closest thing to a job Billy ever had in his life, and he loved it. Being able to play for hours and get money, even if they were small bills, was the best job he could ever ask for. Maybe one day he’ll pursue a career in music. Who knows? But that was getting ahead of himself. For now, he’d settle for playing guitar for tips.

So Billy walked down the sidewalk, happy with his latest “shift” and feeling as if nothing would get in the way of his good mood.    

But the moment Billy set foot in his home, he knew something was wrong. 

Very wrong.

The usual comfortable and bright atmosphere that he had come to know and love was replaced with a sense of apprehension and anxiety. And the brunet was instantly put on edge. 

"Guys? I'm home!" He called out into the house. He set down his guitar case by the couch and heard footsteps walking in. It was his foster dad, Victor.

“Oh, Billy, I’m glad you’re home _.  _ Come over here, I have to tell you something.” he said carefully and slowly. Billy felt that last of his good mood vanish and instantly become replaced with panic.  

“Why?” he asked. “What’s wrong? What happened?” 

Victor breathed in and rubbed his nose. “Uh, well you see, Freddy got hurt at his physical therapy appointment today, pretty badly, and uh he’s taking it really hard. Me and Rosa just thought we’d let you know since you two share a room and you’re the last person to know.” 

Billy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Wait,” he said. “Freddy has physical therapy?”

Victor looked at his foster son, bewildered. “Yes. He does. He has appointments every other week that he goes to.” he paused. “Did you not know?”

Billy stared at the ground in silent, subtle shock, his arms hanging limply by his sides. 

“No, I didn’t.” he mumbled. Why would Freddy keep this from him? How did he not know that his brother had physical therapy?

Billy stared at the wooden floor and began rubbing his hands. This morning at school, Freddy said he was leaving early for the dentist. So why would he question it if Freddy had to go to the dentist? Freddy was trustworthy and loyal he wouldn’t lie to him like that on purpose. But then the veil in Billy’s mind rose, and he began to see all of the patterns he had missed. 

The days when Freddy would unexpectedly go ‘grocery shopping’ with Victor or Rosa. Or when he would have a ‘day out’ with Mary. The time when he first used the dentist excuse and had explained to Billy that today was going to be a check-up from the previous appointment. All of it was Freddy covering up the fact that he was going to physical therapy. But why would he hide it from Billy? 

The brunet walked over to the fridge in the kitchen and grabbed a can of ginger ale. He found that in stressful times, his favorite sugary, carbonated drink helped to bring down his anxiety. He took a swig of the beverage and Victor came into the kitchen, casting him a glance. 

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Billy asked. “Why didn’t you guys tell me?” the teen wasn’t angry or frustrated, Billy was curious and concerned as to why he had never known something that should’ve been so blatantly obvious. 

“We thought Freddy told you. But apparently not.” Victor said, rubbing the back of his neck. He stood still and his eyes started shifting around like he was reading something invisible to everyone else except for him. And then he suddenly, lightly nudged Billy’s shoulder. 

“Here, follow me.” he said. The big man left the room and Billy watched his foster father confusedly for a split second before setting down the soda and following him. Victor led him to the bathroom and opened up a few of the cupboards taking out a small glass and a couple of small boxes. He filled up the glass with a little bit of tap water and held the other supplies to Billy. 

“Why don’t you take them upstairs to Freddy, I’m pretty sure he could use a friendly face right about now. And he needs to take his pain meds.” 

Billy stared at the boxes and water glass, not really sure what to do. But after a second of staring he slowly reached for them and took hold of the items. They felt cool to the touch and Victor gave a small smile. 

“Good,” he said. “Now, just remember to read the instructions, Freddy can’t have more than four of those within twenty-four hours. And if he needs it, there are ice packs in the freezer.” 

Billy nodded numbly, and turned around to head for the stairs. And with each step he took he wondered again why Freddy wouldn’t mention anything to him. He reached the top of the stairs and quietly walked to his and Freddy’s room. The brunet noticed that the door was closed and he could practically feel the tense air surrounding it. He felt like he could cut through it with a knife.  

Billy reached for the door knob and turned it, walking into the room and immediately noticing everything wrong with it. 

Nothing had moved since that morning, and usually Freddy would make an even bigger mess once he came home from school. Books would be lying around, his backpack would be lying precariously on his bed, papers would be strewn everywhere, and his shoes and jacket would normally be thrown across a chair or the desk.

Honestly, the guy couldn’t keep anything clean for more than ten minutes. It drove Billy insane. 

But Billy knew something was very wrong when he entered the room and found Freddy lying on his bunk bed, crutch lying next to him on the floor, and staring at the bottom of the bunk above him. Unblinking. 

His hands were folded over his chest and his jacket laid neatly on the desk chair. His shoes were paired together and his backpack sat at the foot of his bed, unopened. And there were no homework papers to be seen, not a single math assignment or english packet that needed to be filled out, and not even a superhero doodle! 

  
It was bizarre. And wrong. 

Billy took in a breath and stepped fully into the room. “Hey Freddy,” he said as he walked over to the bedside table. He set down the boxes, the glass of water, and cast a glance at the raven-haired boy. His brother didn’t move. But his eyes shifted so he was looking at Billy from the corner of his eyes. 

“I brought you your meds.” Billy said. Freddy gave an annoyed huff and looked away. 

Billy stood there a bit awkwardly for a moment, for he had no idea how to act. He’d never seen Freddy act like this way before and it was completely new to him. This was new Family Territory for him and the poor boy had no clue on how to navigate it. 

Still feeling awkward and stiff, Billy shuffled over and sat on the edge of the bed. Freddy still wouldn’t look at him. The brunet suddenly became very interested in his hands and he started rubbing them nervously. 

“Freddy, why did you never tell me you had physical therapy?” he asked quietly. Said-boy shifted and crossed his arms, still refusing to look at Billy. “Or that you had pain meds? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Freddy gulped and continued to look at anything other than his foster brother. The air was quiet and tense as Billy waited for the reply. 

“Because I didn’t want to tell you.” the disabled teen finally muttered. His voice barely audible in the small room and Billy had to strain his ears to hear him. His eyebrows drew together. 

“Why?”  

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. “Just because.”

“Why Freddy?” Billy persisted.

The raven sighed and finally turned to look at Billy. His normally soft brown eyes, cold and hard like obsidian and the whites were tinged red. Billy felt his heart jump. 

“Because I didn’t want to, okay? So just drop it!” he snapped. Freddy turned over on his side, and immediately recoiled back onto his back, hissing in pain. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do since he turned on his bad leg, the one he had hurt today. 

Billy shot up off the mattress and went over to get the pain meds for his brother. He opened the box and tore out some pills and grabbed the glass of water before returning to the bed. He held out the pills and water to Freddy, waiting for the raven-haired teen to accept them. And when Freddy looked at him, Billy saw his eyes had turned glassier and redder than before. The teen furiously wiped at his eyes, trying to smear away the tears that had begun to appear. He looked angry; and yet Billy didn’t understand why. 

The brunet offered the pills to Freddy, who glared at them in distaste. “I don’t want them.” he said. Billy sighed, feeling a frog climb into his throat.

“Freddy, come on. If you’re in pain, you should take them. “ He coaxed. The raven shook his head. 

“No, this’ll be good for me. I need this.” he said as he grimaced. Billy scoffed.

“How is being in pain good for you?” he asked incredulously. 

“Because it’ll make me stronger.” Freddy said. “I’m building up my pain tolerance just in case I ever get caught by a bad guy and they decide to use my bad leg against me. It makes sense. I’m training myself. They can’t hurt me if I’m already used to it, right?” 

Billy looked at his brother appalled. His eyes reflecting the sadness he felt inside his chest. Why would Freddy ever think like that? 

“No, Freddy that’s wrong. That’s…. why would you ever think like that?” 

Freddy grit his teeth. “It’s just a ligament strain Billy, it’s nothing to concern yourself with. I have to be strong. I don’t need those pills.” 

“Why?” Billy asked. Freddy turned his head to look at his brother, his eyes sad.  “I mean,” he began,”You’re already one of the strongest people I know, so why do you have to do this to yourself? It’s not like you’re gonna get kidnapped by a supervillain any time soon anyway, you know I wouldn’t let that happen! You’re hurting yourself on purpose and for no reason and I won’t let you do it. So just take your damn meds and stop being stupid, okay?”

“But Billy, I have to do this! I can’t let it go!” 

“Why not!?”

“Because it already happened!” 

Billy blinked in shock and he froze. Freddy looked away from his brother and shook his head. The raven leaned up on his elbows and sat up so that he was leaning against the headboard. Silence draped heavy across the room as the two boys sat there.

“What do you mean it already happened?” Billy asked quietly. The boy didn’t say anything, and he glared. “What happened Freddy?”

Billy’s foster brother turned his head towards him but still wouldn’t meet his gaze. Freddy took in a shuddery breath and closed his eyes, fearing everything that he was going to say. But it had to be done. It had to be said. Billy deserved to know the truth. 

“I mean... it already happened… I-I was weak, and vulnerable, and... someone got to me. You weren’t there. And I was all alone, looking for you. A-and I guess he saw me on tv talking to you... while you looked like Thunder or whatever, but...he got me.” Freddy said simply. 

Billy set down the meds and water glass, rubbing his hands on his jeans. “When was this?” he asked. “How come you didn’t tell me?” 

Freddy bowed his head, opening his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He swallowed hard and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “It was a while ago. And I was scared. I couldn’t protect myself and I wasn’t strong enough to protect you Billy. It was all my fault….”

Billy put up his hand. “Freddy, it’s okay. You didn’t hurt me, nothing bad happened. And so what if I did get hurt. I’ve been doing this superhero stuff for a while now, and I’m kind of used to it. And I still had you there with me. You were still by my side the whole time and whatever you did didn’t hurt me.”

Freddy shook his head. “No. I wasn’t good enough and you got hurt. It was me Billy. It was all me.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

The disabled teen stopped his guilty rambling and his breath slowed down till his chest stilled. It was unsettling to see him so frozen and statue-like.

“How do you think Sivana found us?” 

Billy felt his blood run cold and his heart stop. A sudden feeling of emptiness hollowed out his chest and Billy stared at Freddy with wide eyes. He felt his voice choked up on words and he swallowed thickly. It felt like cotton balls were suffocating him. 

"Y…..y-you?" Billy said meekly. Freddy winced, squinting his eyes shut, and nodded. 

"H-he grabbed me. And hurt me. And I was just too weak Billy, I couldn't take it. I just couldn't, I wasn't strong enough. I told him your name...and then he made me take him here to Mary and Eugene and Pedro and Victor and Rosa and, and  _ Darla _ ! And I was so scared, I couldn't help it, I'm so sorry Billy. Please. I'm so sorry…"

Freddy gripped the bed sheets until his knuckles turned white and his hands were trembling. Billy was stunned. He couldn't believe it. 

He had always wondered how Sivana had gotten to Freddy and his family. The question had gnawed at him for weeks and it kept him up at night on more than one occasion. He had blamed himself for Sivana finding them, obviously. Billy didn’t know why, but he felt like it was his fault. And he always assumed that it was something he said or maybe something he indicated that caused the villain to find where his foster family lived. He had blamed himself. He thought that that was the answer. But he never knew that the truth was so much worse. 

It had been Freddy. His trustworthy and loyal brother Freddy. The one person who Billy thought would never disappoint him. His superhero-loving brother, Freddy. How could he do this to him? His goofy, wide-eyed brother, Freddy. Why hadn't he been there to stop it? His sailor-mouthed brother Freddy. 

Billy looked away from the raven and stared at the ground. His heart panging in pain and it felt like a knife had been shoved through it. And with a blood-curdling realization, Billy knew what he was feeling. The disbelief, the anger, the worry, the hollowness, and the sadness all piled up to one emotion. One that he had felt it before when he had been too naive to build up walls. When he had just been put in the system. 

He felt it when he had been kicked out of his first home. When he had been hurt by his first abusive parent. When things had been stolen from him by his homeless ‘friends’. When he opened up to the few adults he knew and they still abandoned him regardless. When he found out that his mother had left him behind on purpose... 

Betrayal. 

Billy felt betrayed. 

The pain carved it’s way into his chest and it settled there like an anchor on the ocean floor. He felt like he couldn’t breathe right. It was as if he was both empty and heavy at the same time, which Billy didn’t fully understand how that was possible. His mouth felt fuzzy as he moved his lips to speak. He thought that he could trust Freddy, that he could trust this family. This was the first time in years that he had felt truly happy and not weighed down with the thought of finding his mother, and all of those years alone, he thought he was betraying her by staying with those foster families. It was one of the reasons why he kept searching for her. 

But then after the betrayal, after she said that she had abandoned him on purpose at the carnival and after everything he ever went through to get to her, Billy vowed that he would never fall for something so delusional as finding someone who never wanted him, again. He promised to be someone new and to do what she never did and to trust others and not betray them. He vowed to earn their trust and in turn he would trust them. 

The first time in so long. 

And Billy truly believed that this family was different. That  _ Freddy  _ was different. That he could finally have a family who would have his back and never hurt him in the way that he had been hurt. But it all turned out to be untrue. Freddy had betrayed him. His brother, his friend, his family. Like every. Person. Before. Him. 

Billy’s sorrow and pain turned into white rage and he felt the anchor on his chest turn into a burning knot. His hands shook and his breathing trembled. Kind, green eyes turned poisonous and Billy whirled around to face Freddy, his voice ready to shout and scream and cuss until his brother broke. 

But his anger wavered when he saw Freddy. 

The raven haired-boy was looking at Billy, a few tears had run down his face and dripped off his chin. He panted heavily and his eyelids kept fluttering, trying to prevent more tears from following their predecessors. He sniffed, and his gaze shifted. Unable to meet Billy's. His shoulders had shrunk, making Freddy look so small, and his pale fingers fidgeted. 

But what had stopped Billy from flying into a rage, were Freddy's eyes. 

The raven’s eyes looked broken. So, so broken. His once-bright eyes were dull and hollow, and they reminded Billy greatly of a deep cave. So empty and lifeless and dark. It was like admitting those small, heavy words had torn him apart and hollowed him from the inside out. 

No...not the words…..The guilt. 

The guilt had torn him apart, Billy realized. The truth of what he had done clawed inside his head for  _ months _ . Eating away at him. The pain and guilt he must've felt when he had no choice but to give up Billy's name, had to have been painful for him. In a way that Billy couldn't fathom. And he had lived with the sorrow of knowing he had done something so shameful and still found strength somehow to keep going. But if Billy had been awake at night wondering how Sivana found their home, did that mean that Freddy was awake too, wondering how he could have betrayed his family like that?

And with a start, Billy realized that Freddy was more ashamed and angry at himself than he ever was.

The rest of his anger dissipated, poisonous eyes turning harmless and burning knot untangling. He let his shoulders drop and his eyes soften, hoping that he was releasing some of the tension in the air. But Freddy still wouldn't look at him. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered one more time, and Billy looked at Freddy. Really looked. His eyes narrowed as they focussed and then they did something that they hadn't done in a long time. They glowed gold. The brunet sighed and he tried to breathe away the emptiness in his chest when he saw that Freddy wasn't glowing. His normally bright aura of blue and gold had disappeared and now there was no sign of it left. Just a dim grey. Billy had never seen that before and it truly hurt him to see Freddy like that.  

Billy blinked and the gold disappeared, turning his eyes green again. 

What was he supposed to do? 

Billy rubbed his hands and bit his lip, trying to think of the right way to react to something so horrible. How would he react? He’d be angry and hurt and wouldn’t talk to his betrayer for weeks. He’d be cold and unforgiving and he would do whatever he can to hurt them back. But that wasn’t the way to go. Billy was trying to change and Freddy didn’t mean to betray Billy the way he did. He had no choice. 

And if that’s what Billy would do, then what should he do instead? 

What would Freddy do? 

If the situations were reversed right now, and if Billy had been the one to betray Freddy, what would he do? Freddy would try to be kind. He would be willing to forgive even if he didn’t fully understand why and he would take the moment to let Billy know that he would be there for him. He would be a brother. 

Billy glanced at Freddy, and making up his mind, he stood up from his spot on the bed and walked over to the headboard. He sat down next to Freddy, and tentatively reaching out his arms, he pulled the raven-haired boy into a hug. Billy wrapped his arms around him and Freddy’s breath hitched. The teen froze underneath Billy’s arms, his shoulders tensed, but then realizing what was happening he relaxed. And with a sniffle Freddy returned the embrace. Clinging onto the other boy as he tucked his head into Billy’s shoulder and began crying freely. 

“Freddy, it’s okay.” Billy said. “It’s okay.”

Freddy shook his head and tightened his grip on Billy. “No, it was my fault.” 

“No.” the teen took in a breath. “you were scared. You made a mistake. You’re only human, Freddy, what else were you going to do?”

Billy held Freddy in silence and Freddy gripped onto his foster brother as if he was afraid he was going to vanish into thin air. Neither one of them saying anything, just holding each other.  

“I forgive you Freddy.” 

The words dropped out of Billy’s mouth before he could think, and honestly? He was glad he didn’t have to think about those words. He was glad that he didn’t have to think twice about forgiving his brother. The crying teen shuddered as another sob left him and Billy began to rub Freddy’s back. The tense feeling in the air disappeared. It wasn’t anxious or a warning anymore, but it felt relieved and much more light than before. 

Billy felt at peace once he forgave Freddy and with a warming realization, he knew that this wasn’t some unfamiliar stranger who sold him out to his worst enemy. This was his brother Freddy. His trustworthy and loyal brother Freddy. His superhero-loving brother, Freddy. His goofy, wide-eyed brother, Freddy. His sailor-mouthed brother Freddy. His family.

Billy saw his vision blur and felt his nose begin to run. 

Because yeah, it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch when the raven said that he had told Sivana everything, but Freddy regretted it. He didn’t mean to do it on purpose and he’d been forced to do something that he didn’t want to do. And what else was he going to do against an evil maniacal super villain? 

He was trying to make up for it by being strong and training himself to be better, even if his methods were heartbreaking. But this was still Freddy. This wasn’t some traitor who had hurt Billy for his own gain. This was just his dumbass, idiot, lovable, single brain celled brother Freddy who didn’t know when to stop talking about superheroes. 

Billy’s grip on Freddy tightened and a tear slid down the brunet’s cheek. And Freddy shifted so that his chin rested on Billy’s shoulder. 

“Thank you, Billy,” he mumbled. The brown-haired boy hummed and nodded subtly.  

“You’re welcome.”  

The raven gave a final squeeze before letting go and wiping his nose and eyes. Freddy huffed a watery laugh as he wiped at his eyes. “God, I’m being ridiculous.” 

Billy smirked. “Maybe just a little bit.” Freddy glanced down at his leg and let out a big shaky sigh. Releasing the last of his anxiety and stiffness in his body, trying to breathe steadily. He looked at his leg.

“Damn, that hurts.”

Billy chuckled softly and shook his head. 

“I think I’ll have some of those meds now.” Freddy said. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well i hope you guys liked it! some comfort and a LOT OF ANGST. Also im trying a different formatting style, so tell me what you think! The next one's gonna be way worse, i promise. Till next time you guys! I love you all!


	21. Hospitals and Tigers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the end of the school year and start of the summer, and Billy's more than excited to get it started! But when the hero receives some startling news about a young friend, he rushes to be by her side. But what exactly can the World's Mightiest Mortal do, when he's powerless to save someone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i. have. been. planning. this oneshot. since chapter. NINE! Ive been holding it off for a while, because i wanted you guys to think it was safe and happy, and then utterly destroy you all with feels and pain.   
> But anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter! Or something like that. I doubt any of you will actually enjoy it. I fully expect you all to hate me after this.

_ Do not stand at my grave and weep, _

_ I am not there, I do not sleep. _

 

* * *

 

 

This wasn't supposed to happen. 

 

It just wasn't supposed to end this way. 

 

And yet here Billy was, watching it all unfold, powerless to stop it. The world’s mightiest mortal bowed his head and held it in his hands, hiding the tears that streamed down his face. Feeling anything but mighty as he sat in the hospital hallway. 

 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. 

 

* * *

 

It all began a few days ago, when the last bell of school rang and all of the children held captive in the stone building were released into the streets. Billy had ran out as fast as his legs could take him. He was ready to be rid of school, and summer had begun. And since there was no more school, he had plenty of time to be the hero of Philadelphia and to hang out with his best friend/brother, Freddy. 

 

Billy wove through the crowds of students and reached the normal meeting place for all of the Vasquez children. Pedro sat on the stair wall, Eugene was engrossed in some kind of video game, Darla was chattering excitedly about her last day to Mary and Freddy had yet to arrive. Just like every other day.

 

Billy smiled when he saw his family and waved. “Hey guys!” he called out. “Still waiting on Freddy?” Mary turned to look at her foster brother and nodded, her face telling just how tired and exasperated she was with Freddy. 

“Yup.” she said. 

 

The raven-haired boy had thought it would be a great end-of-the-year prank if he was to fill up the Bryer’s lockers with popcorn and soggy toilet paper. He had gotten up extra early that morning and had flown down to school to prepare the trap and came back home before anyone knew that he was gone. Well, Billy knew of course, ‘cause Freddy wasn’t exactly a stealthy morning person. Freddy’s alarm had woken him up for Pete’s sake, so obviously Billy knew that something was up. There was also the fact that Billy had seen his notes on how he was going to pull it off…. 

 

Yeah, Freddy wasn’t really good at this. It was a wonder no one had figured out their identities yet. 

 

So of course, the raven got caught. The Bryer’s knew instantly who had done it, no thanks to Freddy recording the whole damn thing, and he had gotten detention. On the last day of school. Which is funny because when Billy had asked him why he wanted to pull off the prank, the response he got was, “Because I can! What are they gonna do? Expel me?” 

 

Oh sweet irony. Sweet, sweet, cruel irony. 

 

And now because of their brother’s silly antics, the rest of the Vasquez kids were stuck waiting for him. Well, most of them. Billy sighed and fiddled with his hoodie, looking around at all of the kids still surrounding them. He turned to his foster sister and shouldered his backpack. 

 

“Well, I’m gonna get a head start on patrol, so I’ll see you at home.” he said as he began walking down the sidewalk. “Tell Freddy he’s an idiot for me when you see him!”  

“Okay, Billy,” Mary called. “Make sure you’re home on time!” 

“Will do!” 

 

The brunet jogged down the street lightly and turning into an alleyway behind a diner. He placed his bag behind the dumpster, praying that he wouldn’t lose another backpack this time, and then he opened his mouth to call down the magical lightning. 

“ **SHAZAM!”**

The sky cracked open and down came a bright bolt of electricity, striking the teenage boy and turning him into the World’s Mightiest Mortal and Champion of Magic. Billy stepped out of the smoke, coughing and patting down his body. He wiped off any soot or ash that the lightning bolt may have caused and rubbed his hands together “Alright,” he said. “Let’s get to it.” and with that, he jumped off the ground and began soaring through the sky, keeping low to the ground in case anyone needed him and called out for help. Which apparently was going to happen sooner than he thought. 

 

“Oh my God, Red Cyclone!” someone screamed. “Red Cyclone, please!” 

 

Billy froze in mid-air and spun around, looking for the person who had shouted for him. He did a 180, spinning around with his white cape flaring dramatically, before he finally saw a woman on the ground, waving frantically at him. Billy’s eyes narrowed, she looked a little familiar for some reason. Had he met her before?

 

Billy flew down and landed in front of her, her dark brown hair was pulled into a messy bun with strands flying everywhere and bags hung under her eyes. Why did she look so familiar? It was nagging at the back of his mind. She looked at Billy, relief and sadness overflowing from her black eyes, and it was when he saw her eyes did he actually recognized her. Images from a birthday party flashed in his mind and a kind woman handing him a slice of cake. 

 

“Ms. Hannigan?” he asked precariously. The woman covered her mouth with her hand and nodded. 

“Yes. I can’t believe I actually found you again.” she said, her voice just barely remaining steady. Billy felt his heart clench.  

“What’s wrong? Do you need my help? Did something happen to you?” he asked. Ms. Hannigan shook her head and ran a hand through her tied up hair. 

“No not me. Uhmm, something happened t-to uhmm… to Sam.” she said, her voice cracking. “She’s sick... and she’s in the hospital.” 

 

Billy felt his heart turn to lead and his breath hitch. He felt like he had been hollowed out, and the only emotion he could feel was dread. “Well then what the hell are you doing out here looking for me!? You should be with her!” Billy exclaimed. Ms. Hannigan gave a watery laugh and shook her head. She rubbed her eyes and sniffled.  

 

“No, I’m here because she asked me to.” she said. “Sam wanted me to get you.” the woman took in a shaky breath and straightened her shoulders. Like she was trying to pull herself together before her next words. “But, if you...if you have to be somewhere else to be, I’d understand. You don’t have to come.” 

 

Billy took a step back.  _ What!?  _ The teen sputtered and tripped over his words, trying to come up with some kind of response to give the mother. She thought that he was going to abandon Sam when she needed him the most? When she was sick and alone and scared? Hell no! Of course he wouldn’t do that! He would never! 

 

But then, he remembered something that the woman said all those weeks ago at the birthday party, that seemed like a lifetime ago. ‘ _ Sam has been through a lot of disappointment.’ _

 

“Ms. Hannigan,” he said, “I don’t want to be anywhere else than by Sam’s side right now.” 

 

And that was the right thing to say, for at his words Ms. Hannigan’s eyes filled with tears and the woman sniffled. She breathed in shakily and let it out. “Thank you.” she whispered. 

 

“Now,” Billy said. “Which hospital is she at?” 

 

* * *

 

Ms. Hannigan lightly knocked on the door of a hospital room, Sam’s hospital room, and she walked in quietly. The little girl laid on her back, pillows fluffed behind her and helping her sit up a little bit. Cords and wires were attached to her thin frame, ranging from a heart monitor to an IV and other cords that the woman couldn’t identify. A bright red cast encased her left forearm, and she could see the glimpses of yellow and white, her attempt to draw a certain hero’s emblem on it. Sam’s shiny and bright hair looked thinner than it had before and her normally dark skin had turned ashy and pale and it was clear that she had lost weight. Too much weight for a six year old. She was thumbing through a book, reading the pages quietly, and sitting right next to her was her stuffed tiger. The one that Billy had given her on her birthday and the one that she cherished so much. She never went anywhere without Tawky Tawny and the hospital was no exception. 

 

Ms. Hannigan walked over to the chair next to her daughter’s bed and sat down, gaining the attention of the girl. Sam closed her book and turned to her mother. 

 

“Hi mom!” she said, a weak, genuine smile lighting up her face. “How was the farmer’s market? Did you get the peaches like I asked? I’d rather eat anything other than hospital Jello right now.” 

 

Ms. Hannigan gave a small smile and pulled up her bag. And reaching in, she took out a small orange peach, fuzzy and soft to the touch and smelling wonderfully of wind and citrus. “You bet I did. Just make sure you eat a little bit, don’t want to make your throat more sore than it already is.” she said. She handed the small peach to her daughter, who grasped it happily and immediately bit into the fruit. She giggled as juice dribbled down her chin and the girl wiped it with her arm. 

 

“I also saw a friend today. We talked and caught up and he even gave me a ride here. So I didn’t have to walk all the way back.” Ms. Hannigan continued to say. Sam set down her peach and looked at her mother, intrigued. 

“Did you? Who was it, do I know him?” she asked.  

“Oh, I’m sure you do.” the woman then turned her head and looked at the doorway. “Why don’t you come in?” she called out. Sam glanced at the doorway, her heart beating excitedly as she waited for whoever her mother was talking to come out and meet her. And in the three seconds she waited she thought about every one of her mother’s friends who had a car and was a man. 

 

But every one of her ideas were wrong when she saw a large man walk through. Red suit bright against the hospital white, golden boots and belt gleaming, white cape swishing around, and a glowing lightning emblem embedded in his chest. Sam knew who it was, and she couldn’t stop the mouth-cracking smile on her face from appearing. 

 

“Billy!” she exclaimed happily. And in that moment, Sam wanted nothing more than to rip off the hospital wires from her arms and run over to hug her hero and friend. “Billy you came!” 

 

The man nodded and rubbed his hands nervously as Sam’s mom turned to give the hero a strange look. “Your name’s Billy?” she asked, surprise evident in her voice. Billy shrugged and walked to sit in the chair opposite of Ms. Hannigan. 

 

“Uhm, uh yeah. My real name’s Billy.” the teen admitted. The woman turned to her daughter. 

“How did you know this?” she asked. She wasn’t angry at the little girl, but intrigued as to why her Sam knew the hero of Philadelphia’s secret identity. The girl shrugged and hugged Tawny in her small arms, burying her cheek into his soft fur. 

“He told me. At my birthday party!” 

Billy smiled nervously and fidgeted with his hands. “Yeah, I did.” he said, agreeing with Sam. Ms. Hannigan had a funny, surprised look on her face. She was definitely not expecting that. 

“Wow, okay. Well then,” she said, turning to Billy. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

 

The hero nodded. “Nice to meet you too Ms. Hannigan. Again.” The woman smiled. 

“No need to call me that, you can just call me Margaret. We are the same age after all, so you don’t have to call me ‘Miss’.” 

 

Billy’s eyes widened and his hands froze. He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the stuffy feeling that suddenly appeared, and he averted his gaze. “Uhm uh, yes. Exactly. We are the same age. Roughly the same age, because, I am… an.. Adult. Also. Right, yes. That makes sense.” 

Margaret gave the ‘man’ a strange look and shook her head. He was certainly a strange person. Sam laughed at his awkward words and her bright laugh relieved some of the anxiousness in the room.  

 

“Billy, look, I drew your symbol on my cast! I tried really hard, but it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. Oh! And I still have Tawny!” Sam said all of a sudden lifting up her stuffed tiger, and Billy’s face brightened when he saw the animal. 

“Oh, you do!” he said, Big Brother Mode suddenly activating. “Is he chasing away your nightmares and keeping you safe? He better be, or else I’m gonna be really disappointed and have a stern talk with him.” Billy said in mock seriousness, crossing his arms. Sam giggled and shifted in her bed until she was comfortably facing the hero. Billy smiled and scooted the chair closer to the bed. 

 

“Yeah, he’s been perfect. I did drop him a few times though and he got muddy. Sorry about that. But we put him in the washer and now he’s all good!” 

“Well, glad to hear he’s being taken care of. I can think of no one better to take care of him.” 

Sam giggled and then gasped excitedly. “Oh! Look at the book I’m reading!” she exclaimed as she suddenly reached for her forgotten book. But apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because when Sam moved, she gasped and a cry left her mouth. 

 

Billy’s smile faded and he leaned forward, shoulders and arms tense as he realized something happened and Margaret moved quickly to sit by her daughter’s side, rubbing comforting circles on her back and pulling her close. 

 

“Hey, you’re fine,” her mother said. “I’m right here. Just stay still till it goes away okay. Just stay still. You’re okay. You’re fine.” The woman turned to Billy, her eyes serious and pleading at the same time. “Billy, would you mind getting Sam her meds and a cup of water. They should be on the table right next to you in the paper cup.”  

 

The teen looked next to him and saw a small little paper cup with four different types of pills in it, sitting next to a half-empty glass of water. Billy took the cup and pills and handed it to Margaret, who then proceeded to give them to Sam. The little girl shook her head. 

 

“No, it’s not that bad,” she persisted. “I can handle it...save them for when it’s worse.” she said. Her mother gave her a look and shook her head. 

“No, Sam, you’re taking your meds. It’ll help. Don’t think about the cost, just take them, please.” 

Sam was silent for a moment, her body going still and almost frozen, before she nodded lightly. Margaret let out a relieved breath and helped Sam sit up, and Billy watched worriedly as the little girl swallowed down the many colorful pills. She laid back down on the bed, her mother coaxing her to relax and Sam turned to look at Billy. Her dark eyes slowly becoming dull and her eyelids fluttering. The meds were starting to kick in. 

 

“I’m okay,” she said, as if she was trying to comfort the hero. “I just moved too fast.” Sam’s eyes slowly closed and she hummed. “I still hve t’ sho yo- m’ book,” she mumbled as she drifted off into sleep, her chest rising and falling softly.

 

Billy glanced at Margaret, and saw that she had returned to her spot in her chair, and she was looking at her daughter with sadness in her eyes. The woman breathed in shakily and clasped her hands together. 

 

“What happened?” Billy asked, his voice soft. Margaret cast him a glance and rubbed her hands together. She sniffled and wiped her hands on her pants. 

 

“She uhm, she has ewing sarcoma. It’s a bone disease and, uhm, it’s a pretty nasty one too. It’s a...it’s a tumor… on her spine and pelvis...and the doctors say that it would be hard to operate on it. She’s already on chemo, but it’s spread so far.” the woman looked up at Billy, tears beginning to appear in her eyes. “I didn’t know she was hurting.” she said. Like she was admitting that it wasn’t her fault that Sam was sick. “She would come home from school with bumps and bruises and I thought...I thought, that she had gotten them playing. And then she didn’t say anything when her back started hurting, and she wanted to be strong for me. She didn’t want to cause any worry and I… I didn’t see it.” tears gushed from Margaret’s eyes and Billy seeing the mother so distraught over her daughter, couldn’t help but feel her pain as well. 

 

The hero stood up from his chair and walked over to the crying woman, kneeling down beside her and drawing her into a hug. Margaret hugged him back and let out a few sniffles, her tears slightly dampening the white cape on Billy’s back. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I wish I had been there.” 

 

Sam’s mom withdrew from the comforting hug and wiped her eyes. “It’s alright. At least you’re here now. Just promise me one thing please?”

 

Billy nodded sternly. “Yes, of course, what is it?” 

 

Margaret cast a glance at Sam and brushed a strand of stray hair out of her daughter’s sleeping face. “Be here for Sam when I’m not. I can’t be here all the time, even though I want to, so she’s here by herself a lot. So...could you stay with her? Please?”    
  


Billy paused for a second before standing up and walking over to his chair, he sat down with a thump. His cape crumpling up beneath him. “Absolutely. You can count on me, Ms. Hanni- Margaret. No matter what happens, I will stay right here.” 

 

The woman let out a sigh of relief and gave a weak smile. “Thank you.” she said quietly. Billy nodded and shifted in his chair so that he was more comfortable and crossed his arms. He was not going to leave Sam alone no matter what. He was going to stay by her side and if it was possible, he was going to do everything he can to help her. Maybe he could start a GoFundMe thing and try to get his Youtube subscribers to help pay for treatment. Maybe that could work. 

 

* * *

 

The following days since Billy first heard that Sam was in the hospital were tough to say the least. 

 

Billy still had a home life to get to and he still had to be a superhero when he wasn’t at the hospital. He had spent the first day or so trying to figure out how to balance all of it. He had asked Freddy and Mary to help put together patrol schedules for all of them, just so that he would be able to find the time to go see Sam. And then finding an excuse to give Victor and Rosa as to why he disappears for hours on end was a whole other level of difficult. Because what would be a good way to get his foster parents off of his back when they realized that he would up and disappear and how to get them to not think he was running away all the time? And after hours of thinking, Billy came to a conclusion. 

 

Just say that he got a job. 

 

Or at least signed up for volunteer work. That would give him a good excuse to explain his absences. And then the last thing on his list of things to get in order were how to spend all of his spare time with Sam. He had already checked in the first time with the nurses when Ms. Hannigan had taken him in. That had caused quite a small commotion and a few strange stares. Maybe if he just explained the situation to the nurses and doctors, they would understand and not stare at him all the time. That could work, right? And maybe he could make a habit of visiting the other kids in the pediatrics ward. No harm in that right? Maybe he could play tic-tac-toe on the windows with markers with them. Billy smiled at the thought. That would certainly be fun. 

 

The first day he had spent with Sam, her mom had to go back to work, and Billy had done his best to make sure she was happy and comfortable. And getting to know Sam more was awesome. She was such a great kid and Billy couldn’t help but feel like a big brother towards her. There was this one instant when Sam had called him ‘Uncle Billy’ and that did not fly well with the teen. 

 

“Nope, nuh uh, absolutely not.” he had said. He was laying across his chair with his legs over one armrest and his back leaning against the other, and he was munching on some M&M’s. Sam looked at him funny, her eyes glittering with humour. “I refuse to be called an ‘uncle’.” 

“What? Why not. You basically are.” 

Billy shook his head. “Nope, I think I’m more like a big brother if anything. And that’s it!”

Sam scoffed and crossed her arms. “If anything you’re like a dog. A big, floofy, happy dog. Like a golden retriever!” 

Billy bit down on a few more pieces of chocolate, contemplating the comparison, before nodding. “Yeah, I can see that. I am like a golden retriever aren’t I?” 

Sam giggled and picked up the book she was reading again. “Yep.” Billy hummed. 

“That explains a lot about me actually.” 

The room filled up with the little girl’s light laugh and Billy smiled. He enjoyed being able to make Sam smile and laugh. 

 

It was better than seeing her in pain. 

 

There was another time, when Billy had just arrived at the hospital and he saw that Sam wasn’t reading or coloring her cast or even watching the hospital room’s television, but she was clutching Tawny with a death grip, her knuckles turned white and she started panting heavily. Her eyes were shut tightly and she whimpered in pain. Billy’s face paled and he rushed over to the table that always had her meds. He grabbed the cup and water and held them out to her. 

 

“Sam, here, take your meds.” he said urgently. The girl opened her eyes and glanced at the little paper cup hesitantly. “Please.” Billy said. Sam nodded and she reached to grab the cup, her hands shaking. There were only three pills in the cup this time and when she took them, she didn’t instantly fall asleep like she had before. 

 

Billy let out a relieved sigh and sat down in his chair. He gave Sam a look and began to fidget with his hands. 

“Sam,” he began to say, “Why are you so reluctant to take your meds?” and in that moment he was strongly reminded of that time when he had confronted Freddy about not taking his meds. How he wanted to be stronger than he already was, and how he thought that putting himself through pain was the way to do it. Was that what Sam was doing?

 

Sam looked at Billy and gripped onto Tawny. The red-clad hero could see the indents in the tiger’s fur. 

 

“I don’t want my mom to pay any more than she has to.” the little girl said after a moment. “The tests were already too much to pay for, and we barely have enough to pay for help. My mom tries to hide it, but I know that we don’t have enough.”

 

Billy leaned back in his chair, finally understanding what she was saying. “So you try to save the meds for when you really need them.” Sam nodded.  “Sam, you can’t think about that.” Billy said. The little girl glanced up at him, her lips thin and eyes wide.

 

“I understand that you want to try and help your mom by saving money, believe me I get it, but don’t you think that the best way to help your mom is by getting better? She loves you Sam and she doesn’t want to see you in pain. Just focus on getting better and your mom can figure out the rest. I’m sure you guys will be just fine.”

 

Sam averted her gaze and looked at the white sheets of the hospital bed. She fingered one of the creases in the sheet and didn’t look back up at Billy. The hero sighed. Maybe he wasn’t getting to her. Billy stood up and sat on the edge of Sam’s bed, his weight making the bed creak just a little bit, yet Sam still wouldn’t look at him. 

 

“Okay, listen,” Billy said. “I have a brother.” 

 

Sam looked up from the sheet and up at Billy, her eyebrows furrowed and eyes curious. The verge of a smile tugged at his lips, he knew that would get her attention. And before Billy said anything else, he prayed that Freddy would not be too angry with him and kick his ass for revealing more about his personal non-superhero life to a civilian outside of his family. 

 

“And he has a messed up leg. He can’t walk without a crutch and he gets a lot of crap from people because of it. Now recently, I learned that he wasn’t taking his pain meds when he needed them. He wanted to be strong and tough and not have anyone worry about him. Do you know how I felt when I found out?” 

 

Sam shook her head. 

 

“I was sad. I was really sad. My brother was putting himself in pain because he didn’t want people to worry about him and it hurt me. I don’t want to see you do the same thing Sam. And neither does your mom. So please, will you take your meds for her, just so that she doesn’t see you hurting?” 

 

Sam looked back down at the bed, and Billy could see her eyes shifting around as she thought. Billy held his breath as he waited for he to speak, and when she finally did her voice was soft and almost a whisper. 

 

“Okay. I’ll get better...for my mom.” 

 

Billy smiled, relief washing over him, and his shoulders relaxed. “Thank you Sam.” he said. “Now, what do you say we turn on some TV and watch cheesy cartoons?” 

 

* * *

 

After that, Sam was more willing to take her meds. She went to appointments and had tests and treatments when she wasn't in her room, and sadly Billy couldn't be with her while she went through those. He wasn't direct family after all. So he would wait in the room, fly around the city, get her some more books, or he would visit other kids in the hospital. 

 

Eventually, he became a common sight in the hospital. He started learning the nurses and doctors names and he would sometimes chat with them when they were off duty or while he was waiting for Sam to be done with some of her treatments. And then during the times when Sam was asleep, whether from exhaustion or physical pain, Billy would talk to Freddy or check his Twitter account. And before you say anything, yes of course Billy has a superhero Twitter account. Freddy made it. 

 

And it today was one of those days. 

 

Billy sat next to Sam, scrolling through his Youtube and Twitter account and posting some new content. The little girl was already sleeping when he had gotten there and the nurses explained that she had another bout of pain. She wanted to go to the play area and while she was there her leg began hurting her. Eventually she hurt herself and now she was sleeping off the pain meds like she had before. So Billy decided to sit beside her and wait until she woke up, keeping his promise to her mother intact.

 

He had lied to Rosa and Victor about his volunteer job again and while he didn’t like lying to the first foster parents he actually considered as parents, it was necessary for him to do so. He needed to be by Sam’s side and he wasn’t going to leave her by herself. After a few hours, Billy was starting to feel munchy, so he went out into the hallway and walked around until he found a vending machine. The teen smiled and he walked up to it, knowing full well that he had no money on him to pay for some junk food. But that wasn’t going to stop him. 

 

The hero glanced around him, and seeing that no one was watching him, shot a small bolt of lightning at the large machine. The lights inside of it flickered and the whole thing shook, and before he knew what was happening, all of the candy and chips and crackers fell out of their spots. Billy cursed and quickly grabbed a bag of chips and walked away. Pretending that he just didn’t electrocute a vending machine and steal from it. He walked back to the hospital room with his head down. 

 

And while he was walking back to the room, he overheard one of the doctors talking to someone, and Billy didn’t like what they were saying. 

 

“I don’t know if she’s going to make it.” the doctor said, her voice heavy and tired. “The tumour already spread across her spine and pelvis and a surgery at this point would be pointless. We would be able to get some of it, but not all of it, and it would just keep growing and growing. And from the new MRI scans, more tumours are appearing around her lungs and ribs.”

 

“But,” a thick, voice said. “We’re using chemotherapy, a-and shouldn’t that be working?” it was Ms. Hannigan’s voice, and Billy realized with dread that they were talking about Sam. He could feel his blood run cold as he listened to the doctor speak once more. 

 

“Chemo doesn’t always work. And Sam is an unusual case. She’s so young and was already weak from the sarcoma when she came in. The best we can do right now is try radiation therapy. That’s probably our best option at making the tumours recede a significant amount, and it would give us more time to figure out what to do next.” 

 

The hallway was silent and Billy waited with bated breath as he strained his ears to hear Ms. Hannigan’s reply. 

 

“Okay,” Ms. Hannigan said, her voice barely audible. “Do it.” 

 

Billy leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He heard someone walking his way, and his eyes snapped open. And then before the person could round the corner he was hiding behind, Billy zoomed away. Running away in the blink of an eye and the only evidence that he was ever there in the first place was a gust of wind. 

 

He had known that the cancer Sam had was bad, but he always thought that everything would turn out alright. Because it had to right? And then the whole situation finally hit Billy in the stomach. He gasped for breath and slowed down, finally coming to a stop in an empty corridor with no around to see him. Billy panted, heavier than he usually did when using the Speed of Mercury and the teen could feel the tears begin to well up behind his eyes. 

 

Billy scrunched his eyes shut and placed his hands on his head, running a hand through the magically neat hair. He sat down on one of the benches in the hallway and just collapsed in on himself. 

 

He began to compare present Sam with past Sam and he was shocked at how he had missed the vast differences between them. Her bright eyes had dulled. Her rosy cheeks had paled and hollowed. Her strong and loud demeanour had wilted. Her hair had thinned out and her body broke. 

 

Sam Hannigan was sick, and Billy just realized how hopeless the situation was.

 

And so that's what led to the world's mightiest mortal crying in a hospital hallway. Alone. And feeling powerless. He couldn't help Sam, and the only thing he could do was stand by and watch as her spirit wilted away. Billy cried and let the tears fall, and he didn’t move from his spot for a long time. 

 

And after what felt like hours, the hero sniffled and wiped his face, clearing away the last of his tears. He breathed in a shaky breath and tried to get a grip of himself. He realized that he couldn’t lose it right now, because right now at this moment, she was fading away. Billy knew from the way the doctor said it, that the radiation therapy might not be enough, and will only give Sam a few more weeks to live at the most. And Billy swallowed hard and clenched his jaw as he became determined. 

 

If these were going to be the last few weeks, or even months, of Sam’s life, then he was going to do everything in his god-like power to make them the best weeks ever. 

 

Billy sniffed and rubbed his nose. Shaking his shoulders and cracking his neck, he took one more breath and stood up. He had to be strong, he had to be here for his friend. And by God and the Rock of Eternity, he was going to do it.   


 

* * *

 

It was late one night, when Billy came to visit. It had been two days since he found out about Sam’s shift in treatment and the past few days hadn’t been very well. For either of them. 

 

Billy had gotten into a fight with Freddy, and at the time Billy didn’t even know why they were arguing. All he knew was that he was stressed and scared for Sam, and apparently his agitation had become more apparent to his family. He hadn’t been hiding his grief and anxiety very well. So Victor had pulled him aside and asked him if everything was okay. Which was exactly what Billy didn’t need. He knew that Victor had meant well, but Billy was too wound up to talk to anyone about this, about what he was feeling. How was he supposed to explain to them how he felt utterly helpless in helping someone he thought of as a sister. Of course, Freddy and his siblings knew what he was doing, how could they not, but that didn’t mean he had to talk to them about it. 

 

So during the past two days, Billy had reverted back to his old self. Reclusive. Defensive. Rude. Angry. Depressed. And it wasn’t fun for anybody. Not even Trashcan could cheer up the teen no matter how hard she tried. But thankfully, everyone eventually got the idea that this was only temporary and backed off. Or at least, that’s what Billy hoped. But if anything, being left alone only made him feel worse. 

 

And Billy couldn’t sleep. He had been having trouble sleeping ever since he found out Sam was sick, and some nights he would wake up for no reason at all and be left staring at the wall for hours. It was torture. He couldn’t sleep, he was grieving and depressed, and he felt helpless to help Sam. And so it was one of these nights, when Billy could not sleep, that he decided to do something about it. If he was going to be awake anyway, he might as well do something useful.

 

So he threw off his sheets, not caring whatsoever if he woke up his foster brother, and hopped down onto the wooden floor below. His feet thudded lightly on the floor and Billy froze for a moment, waiting to see if anyone was coming. When he heard no doors creaking open or people shifting in their rooms, the brunet let out a sigh and relaxed. He walked over to closet he and Freddy shared and grabbed his signature red hoodie. He shrugged it on over his pajamas and slipped on a pair of comfortable Vans. He didn’t care if he looked like shit, he was going out. 

 

The teen glanced around the room, and noticed how his plan was flawed. Because for one, he couldn’t exactly sneak out. His parents would think that he had run away again, and he couldn’t exactly scream the wizard’s name and turn into his adult self. He would wake everyone up. 

 

So what could he possibly do that would get him both out of the house in and out quickly before his parents noticed he was gone, and without causing too much attention. The boy’s green eyes glanced over the room, and then fell on a small object. About the size of a large pink eraser and made of gold with two hoops attached to a single gold plate. 

 

_ Perfect. _ Billy thought. The teen walked over and slipped the sling-ring onto his fingers, the same pair that Doctor Strange had given him, and he paced back to the middle of the room. Billy lifted his hands in the same way that the doctor had done it and began picturing the place he wanted to go to. Picturing every detail and every line of the room in his mind’s eye. And then he began spinning his hand.

 

The golden sparks flew and shaped themselves into a circle, mirroring Billy’s hand as it moved.  And then with another bout of concentration, the hospital room appeared. Sam’s hospital room. 

 

Without wasting another moment, Billy jumped through the portal and landed on the linoleum floor lightly. The sparkling portal disappeared in a flash and Billy was suddenly left alone in the room. Seeing the hospital at night was a completely different experience than being there during normal hours. 

 

The normally bright lights were dimmed, the shadows in the corners were more pronounced, the chairs were empty, and the city’s lights gleamed and glittered through the window panes. Billy turned to look at the city of Philadelphia through the window, and slowly, his Vans tread quietly across the floor as he walked towards the glass. One of Billy’s favorite things about flying, was being able to see the city from so far away and up close. And the sight of all the lights usually made him feel happy and relaxed. But not tonight. 

 

No, not tonight. 

 

Billy turned away from the window and walked over to his chair, sinking into the cushions as he sat in the spot he had become so familiar with. By Sam’s side. And tonight, she looked even worse. Her brow was furrowed and her arms and shoulders were stiff, and a small bead of sweat rolled down her pale forehead. And Billy realized that she was in pain. The teen sighed tiredly and scooted closer to the bed, noticing how Tawky Tawny was lying right next to her. He reached out and he grabbed Sam’s hand, and surprisingly, some of the tension in her forehead eased. Big Brother Mode was instantly activated and Billy began rubbing his thumb along her hand, in the exact same fashion as Mary did whenever she helped him relax from a nervous breakdown. Billy had found the motion soothing and grounding to him, and he hoped that it was soothing and grounding for Sam too. And before he knew what he was doing, Billy was humming. 

 

It was a low tune, he had heard the song in a movie, and the song had stuck with him since. He had even looked up the chords so that he could play it on his guitar, and while the lyrics were strange, it was the kind of song where the tune was so comforting and easing that you couldn’t help but listen to it for hours. It was the kind of song that Billy used to put Darla to sleep and it worked every single time. And this time was no exception. 

 

Sam slept on, barely shifting or fluttering an eyelid as Billy hummed. And seeing that she wasn’t waking up, even after he had been humming for a while, the teen believed it safe to actually sing the words. Softly, of course. 

 

_ “f you missed the train I'm on _

_ You will know that I am gone _

_ You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles _

_ A hundred miles, a hundred miles, _

_ A hundred miles, a hundred miles _

_ You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles” _

 

And he continued to sing until the song was finished. He let the last note hang in the air and the only sounds he could hear were that of his breathing and the steady beep of the heart monitor. Billy continued to rub Sam’s hand and then once he started to get tired again, he laid his head on the bed. He glanced at the clock next to the bed and almost let out a groan. 

 

_ 3:18  _ it read in big bold numbers, and Billy realized that he had only been there for forty-five minutes. It had felt like hours. The teen buried his face in the cool, crisp sheets and huffed. 

 

“Wha-” Billy heard a small voice croak out. His head shot up and much to his surprise, he saw Sam looking at him with tired, confused eyes. She tried to pull away her hand from the ‘stranger’. “Wh-who are you?” she asked, bafflement and a slight tinge of fear in her voice. Billy felt his heart freeze and he gulped nervously. 

“What are you doing in my room?” Sam asked. “Get out.” 

“N-no I was just-” 

“Get out or I’m calling my nurse!” Sam exclaimed. Or at least it would have sounded like one if her voice hadn’t been so raspy and weak. 

“Sam,” Billy began, and upon hearing her name, the little girl froze and looked at Billy, eye’s wide. “It’s Billy.” he said, his voice almost cracking. “Come on it’s me, it’s Billy.”

Sam shook her head. 

“N-no, Billy’s an adult. Red Cyclone’s an adult! He’s a big hero and he always wears capes and gold boots, and you don’t look anything like him and please get out of my room!” 

“Sam, it really is me! Okay, uhhmm, ugh I’m too tired for this, but do you remember at your birthday party how I zoomed over and took your present off the table right when you reached for it? I wanted it to be a surprise and I wanted to tell you about why I got it for you! And then I took you to the roof and told you how I always wanted a tiger, but I never got one. And how Tawny would be there for you when I couldn’t? Don’t you remember?”

 

The fear in Sam’s eyes slowly dawned into realization, and her confusion turned into wonder. For how else could some random boy who she’d never seen before know the reason behind her present. It had only been her and Red Cyclone up on the roof. But what he was saying was impossible. There’s no way they could be the same person. Billy was big and old and like her mom, and this kid was small and young. 

 

But, there was something familiar about him. Something that just screamed at her. If Sam used her imagination, she could almost see this boy being like a younger version of her hero. And then it all clicked together. The moments when Billy would slip up and mention school or family dinners, how he never acted like any of the adults she’d ever met, how he knew exactly what she was talking about when it came to her favorite cartoons. She had always assumed that he was a funny adult, but now that she thought about it. It made sense. 

 

Billy was a kid. Red Cyclone was a kid. The hero of Philadelphia was a kid. And how no one noticed before, was a mystery to Sam. 

 

“Billy?” she asked hesitantly. The teen smiled, the same lopsided and childish grin that Red Cyclone had, and nodded his head. 

“Yeah, it’s me.” he sniffled. “I know, it’s pretty weird. I don’t always look like a red-suited superhero. And in my defense the suit’s design wasn’t my idea. If I was able to pick it, it’d be so much cooler.” he gave a small laugh and Sam smiled lightly when she heard that it was the same laugh. 

“It is you!” she said excitedly. She sat forward suddenly, going as quickly as she could without hurting herself, and wrapped Billy in a weak hug. The teen paused for a second before smiling widely and returning it happily, mentally thanking Darla for all of the hugging practice she gave him. 

“But I don’t get it!” Sam said. “How can you look like this,  _ and _ look like that?” 

Billy let go of his friend and rubbed his hands nervously. ‘Well, that’s kind of a long story. And I don’t know if I have the time to explain all of it.” 

Sam scooted back and sat up in her bed thanks to her pillows. “Well then why don’t you just give me the basics? Like how you can turn into the Red Cyclone!”

Billy chuckled and glanced at the ground. “That’s still a long story.” Sam crossed her arms and gave the teen a look. 

“Tell me.” she said sternly. The brunet scoffed at the little girl’s determination and shrugged. 

“Well alright, you asked for it.”

 

And so Billy began to explain to her everything that happened the previous winter. Beginning with how he stepped foot on the subway and ending with pulling the eye out of Sivana’s head and stop the Seven Deadly Sins. And Sam listened the entire time, only barging in every few minutes to ask questions or for more specific details. She wanted to know everything about how her favorite hero came to be. And just as the sun was beginning to rise and the sky was turning grey did Billy realize that it was morning. He glanced at the clock on the table and saw that it read  _ 6:39.  _ The boy gulped and shifted nervously. 

 

“Hey uh, Sam, I gotta get going. I have to be home in time before my parents figure out I’m gone. They go crazy whenever I do that.”

 

The dark-haired girl’s eyes flashed with disappointment and she had to refrain herself from whining. “What? No you can’t leave! I wanna know more about the time you convinced Superman to go to lunch with you.”

 

Billy smirked. That was a damn good story. But still he had to get home. “Sorry, I can’t. But I will come back later today and tell you okay? I promise.” 

 

“Really?” Sam asked hesitantly. “You promise?” Billy nodded sternly and got up from his chair, fingering the slingring still placed on his finger. 

 

“I’ll see you later today Sam!” 

 

The little girl waved her hand and gave a small smile. “See you later Billy.” 

 

* * *

 

_ Five weeks later  _

 

Nothing helped. 

 

Nothing was able to stop it. And Billy knew that this was what was probably destined to happen since the start. She had been too late to get treatment and the disease had already spread too far. And after months of fighting, fighting so hard and so long, she just couldn’t do it anymore. 

 

And when Billy heard the news, he had frozen in shock, suddenly feeling hollow and empty inside, and without saying a word he went to his room and didn’t come out for the rest of the day. The story was on the news, and that’s how he had heard. How horrible is that? Hearing a monotone news anchor say that your friend, someone you thought of as a little sister... 

 

...was dead. 

 

The pain had cut through Billy in an agonizing way and no one knew why the boy had suddenly decided to close himself off from the world. No one except his foster siblings of course. But none of them said anything. 

 

None of them spoke when they heard Billy cry in the middle of the night and none of them certainly said anything when they all ate dinner together. The only interaction Billy got from them was a large group hug. And while the teen usually enjoyed the group hugs, he didn’t enjoy them this time. 

 

Billy tried to reach out to the mother, to Ms. Hannigan, but she had disappeared from the media. She gave no comments, no words, no interviews, she just wanted to be left alone to grieve. And honestly? Billy could relate to that. So he didn't try to speak to her anymore.   


 

It wasn’t till a few weeks after the funeral did Billy finally find the courage and strength to visit her grave. And when he did, Freddy was right beside him, supporting him the whole way. The grass was vibrant and soft beneath their feet, and the wind blew past their faces, playing with the boys' hair. The sky was a bright blue and flowers grew, it was almost too beautiful. Why was the world so beautiful? It shouldn't be. 

Billy had tried to keep a brave face on the entire flight over, but when Billy saw the headstone and the fresh grass beginning to grow on top of the upturned earth, he couldn't stop the breakdown and he collapsed in front of the marble. Freddy immediately fell down beside his brother and pull him into a tight embrace, and the raven could practically feel the anguish emanating off of the teen.         


For engraved on the stone was a picture of a small tiger cub, laying among grass and small flowers. And below it, read her name and birthday and deathday, like any other ordinary headstone. But it was the thing below it, the smaller message that was clearly made out for the crying boy, that had made Billy cry. 

 

_ To my hero,   
thank you for chasing away my nightmares, for keeping me safe, for being with me when I was alone, and for being my friend. I’ll always remember what you’ve done for me. _

 

* * *

 

_ Do not stand at my grave and cry, _

_ I am not there. I did not die.  _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im so fucking evil, and I know that. Have fun with that guys! Im heading off to go camping soon and so this'll be my last update for a while. Until next time and i fully expect you all to be screaming at me in the comments. (especially you arithese). Happy 4th of July and so long!


	22. Friendly Visits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy needs some time off, and so he decides to go visit a friend across the multiverse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! I am back! I decided to take a small hiatus because i really needed a break and also i wanted to give you guys some time to recover from that last chapter. I know you all probably hate me, but oh well, hope this chapter makes up for it.  
> Anyway, i hope you guys enjoy this one!

Billy stared at the grand green door in front of him, swallowing hard. He shrugged the backpack full of snacks and money even more securely on his shoulders glanced around him. He saw the cold stone spires and the dim mysterious lighting from the Rock of Eternity and swallowed. 

Was he really going to do this? He knew nothing about the place he was going. Who’s to say that he wouldn’t be walking in on a family dinner or something like that? What if time passed differently there and by the time he got back, it would be like seventy years in the future? What if his friends was  _ dead!? _

Billy shook his head and mentally reprimanded himself. 

No, if something were to happen, then he would be able to handle it. After all, by the looks of it, it seemed like that world had it’s fair share of heroes too. They could help out if Billy ever needed something. 

Billy fidgeted with the strap and bit his lip. Well it was now or never. Plus he needed this. He needed to do this. After what had happened? Billy swallowed thickly and blinked rapidly to get rid of the tears that had begun to rise up inside his eyes. He had to get away, just for a day. That was all he was asking for. A day. And to visit a friend too! Wouldn’t the universe give him that? 

Or, the multiverse?

He reached for the golden handle and grabbed it, noticing how it was cool to the touch and almost felt as if it was vibrating. And almost subconsciously, Billy felt his eyes flare up and flash gold for a moment. The teen squinted his eyes shut and shook his head, turning off the power. He turned back to the door and with a breath to settle his nerves, he opened it. 

The door opened to reveal the exact same thing as last time, which was a cleaned up hallway, ornate tables, and glass cases displaying a bunch of old looking stuff. 

Billy took a step forward and placed a shaky foot on the polished wood. He leaned forward and placed some weight on his foot, testing to see if the place was solid enough for him and would actually stay and not melt beneath his feet. 

It was an irrational fear, but with all the doors and multiple dimensions and universes, you could never be too careful with it’s set of physics. Or at least, that’s what Freddy said 

But when the floor didn’t melt out from underneath his feet, Billy let out a sigh of relief and fully walked into the hallway. It was a strange place. And the air almost felt familiar to him. Billy smiled and turned around to close the door, but when he did, he found that the door wasn’t there anymore. 

_ Oh shit.  _ He thought to himself.  _ That’s not good.  _ Billy stuttered and his mind blanked. What was he going to do now? How could he possibly get back to his dimension now? 

And then just as the anxieties started to rise and get louder and louder, Billy almost smacked himself in the head and laughed when he realized something. 

This was  _ Doctor Strange’s _ universe! He would just ask the doctor for some help! He had been able to cross over to Billy’s universe once before, what’s to stop him from doing it again and helping Billy? 

The brunet smirked and shook his head. He was going to be fine. All he had to do was relax and spend his day off doing absolutely nothing. He really needed the break and he couldn’t emphasize how much he needed this day off. 

With a shrug, Billy walked away from the hallway and he wondered around the apparent manor he had walked into. It was like a museum! Glass cases and old relics hanging on walls and stuff, there was even a coat rack full of different cloaks and stuff. Billy even peeked into this one hallway that had a bunch of different windows showing places all around the world. And Billy wanted to touch and hold every single thing in the place and learn what it did. But, Billy was a smart kid, and having read the magic books, he knew that it was better to learn what something did before actually picking it up or using it. Didn’t want to accidentally get sucked into the Shadow Realm or teleported to the bottom of the Mariana Trench! That would be very bad.

Billy walked throughout the manor and hallways, glancing at the artifacts and marveling at the giant, strange window that allowed sunlight to flow in. He guessed that nobody was home at the moment, and he began to wonder whose home he even was in right now. Obviously they had some affiliation with the Mystic Arts or something close to that. Or they were just a rich, snobby  person with a personal collection. Who knows? Certainly not Billy. 

And finally he came across a large lobby-esque room. There were stairs that wound in two opposite directions and met at the bottom and there was another large and grand door that Billy knew undoubtedly led to the outside world. 

Billy smiled and jumped onto the polished wooden railing, sliding down with practised ease, and plopping onto the floor with a small thump. But unlike his earlier conclusion, somebody was home.    

“Hey! Who’s there!” an unfamiliar voice barked out. Billy froze in his converse sneakers and his shoulders stiffened up. His legs were tense and ready to make a run for it as he heard whoever yelled run into the lobby. 

It was a plump looking Asian man wearing orange, red, and dark brown robes. His hands were raised defensively and he looked ready for a fight. But his eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he saw Billy and his eyes narrowed at the random newcomer. His stance faltered and his hands slowly lowered. 

“Who’re you?” he asked in a strange accented voice. 

“Uhmmm,” Billy mumbled intelligently. 

“What are you doing here and why did you come here?” the man asked again.

Billy stared for a moment longer.

“Becaus-” the brunet made a run for it, not even wanting to finish whatever he was going to say. He ran to the door and flung it open, running out into the warm air of summer and onto the busy sidewalk. He heard the Asian man call out to him, but Billy had run away from enough foster homes to know that you never look back when someone yells after you. If you look behind you, then you could go off course or you could run into someone, which is why you always have to look ahead when you’re running. 

So Billy focused on the path ahead of him, jumping between and winding through the people walking on the sidewalk and not paying any attention to anything else other than the thought of running and getting away. The teen turned into an alleyway and immediately jumped onto a dumpster. He leapt from the cover and grabbed onto a fire escape ladder, and with a grunt, Billy pulled himself up and began climbing the ladder. He didn’t stop until he got to the roof and was leaning on his knees as he panted heavily. 

It had been a while since he exerted himself that way and had to run away. The teen tried to calm his pounding heart and regain control over his breathing. And when he did, he stood up to his full height, as short as it was, and began to look around. First things first, he had to figure out where he was. For all he knew he was in some vague city across the world that he had never heard of and was hundreds of thousands of miles away from Queens and his friend. Who knows how long it would take for him to reach New York? It could be on the other side of the world for all he knew. 

A flash of silver glinted in the corner of Billy’s eye and the boy turned to look at the thing that had caught his attention. And when he saw it, his shoulders dropped. 

Or…

He was already in New York. 

The Chrysler Building glittered brightly in the summer sunlight and the New York skyline shown as the hot sun bared down on it. Billy could hear the sound of cars honking, people talking, and all of the normal sounds of the city surrounding him. He really was a dumbass wasn’t he?

But now that he knew where he was, kind of, he had two more questions to answer. 

One, should he transform into his alter ego.

Two,  _ could _ he transform into his alter ego.  

Because since this was an entirely different universe, did the power of Shazam even work here? If he said the Wizard’s name, would he even be able to use his powers? Maybe not. But then again, the Rock of Eternity was the source of all magic, right? So then if it was the source of all magic across the multiverse, then doesn’t that mean it could branch out to wherever the Champion was? No matter what universe he was in? 

Man, where’s Freddy and his superhero comic book chatter when you need him?

Billy sighed and decided that maybe he shouldn’t try to become the Champion today. It was after all his day off, or his Day of Chill 3.0 if you will. Maybe this time, he’ll finally be able to spend it just chilling and relaxing with a friend. The brunet shouldered his backpack more firmly onto his back and began to walk towards the edge of the roof he had climbed up onto it. He glanced over the edge, seeing just how high he had actually climbed and he winced. 

Now how was he supposed to get down?

 

* * *

 

Billy wandered through the streets of New York, a big smile on his face as he bit into the hotdog he was eating. Man, was he glad that they used the same money currency on this Earth, it would’ve been a disaster if they used something different. So far he had been walking around the streets, looking at the buildings, doing a little sight-seeing, and avoiding the cops that had been eyeing him suspiciously. It was obvious they thought he was a runaway or something like that, and if he was being honest, Billy was having a little bit of fun messing with them. One moment he would be walking through a crowd and then the next second he’d disappear without a trace. Or he would be on the sidewalk and then a bus would pull up in front of him and he’d just hop on. The brunet almost forgot how much fun it was messing with cops. 

And then eventually, Billy made it to Times Square. He didn’t exactly know how he ended up there, but he did. And so now he was looking around and taking in all of the giant screens displaying hundreds of things at once that surrounded him. Billy smiled and took another bite of his hotdog. He pulled out his phone and took a few selfies, something to show Freddy when he got back home and Billy reminded himself that he had to bring back a souvenir for his brother before he went home. Freddy would kill him if he didn’t grab something from an alternate dimension for him. 

Billy walked around a bit more, marvelling at just how big the whole place was, when he suddenly noticed something that piqued his interest. It was a big ol’ screen that displayed a news station, some kind of news channel called the Daily Bugle, and they were doing a story on a familiar spider friend of Billy’s. But what they were saying didn’t make any sense! 

A menace? A murderer? A traitor? The  _ villain, _ Spider-man!

No! That couldn’t be true! There’s no way that Peter could do any of the things that they were saying he did. But then the station played a video. One of a man dying and Peter’s voice commanding a kill strike. Billy’s eyes widened. This couldn’t be right! He refused to believe any of this. 

But that was only part of it. Then the man on the screen, the man with a beard, bloodied and battered, and wearing a suit of some kind said something that Billy never expected to hear. 

“Spider-man’s real name is P-..........Peter Parker!” And then the screen showed a school photo of Billy’s friend, wearing a kind smile, with crinkled brown eyes and curly brown hair combed back neatly. 

This couldn’t actually be happening right!? The screen went back to the newscaster, some man named J. Jonah Jameson, and they continued on with the story. 

“It has been two weeks since the identity of Spider-man has been revealed and yet the police are no closer to catching the masked vigilante. The terrorist known as Peter Parker has not been found and even with extensive interrogation of his friends and family, no one knows where he is. Or they do and are unwilling to cooperate and willingly harboring a dangerous fugitive. More on this story tonight at seven, stay tuned.” 

Billy looked down at the ground, his mouth hanging open. He rubbed his eyes with his hands and just stood there for a second thinking. This was absolutely terrible! Now, thanks to that dude on the screen, everyone in the entire world knows who Spider-man is! Do they have no sense of privacy and secret identities! And oh my gosh Peter! What was Peter thinking? What was he even doing!? 

The anchor said that no one’s been able to apprehend him for two weeks, so that’s good right? That means that he’s getting by somehow. But still, his whole world must be crashing down on him. Billy couldn’t even begin to understand what was going on in his head right now. But one thing was for sure…

Both of their summers have sucked so far and both heroes desperately needed a Day of Chill 3.0. Now more than ever. 

Billy straightened up and stared back up at the screen. He turned away, his back facing the stupid news caster, and he began to rush off, his eyes narrowed in determination. Billy began to run again, but this time it wasn’t as desperate as before when he was trying to get away. No, this time Billy was determined and focused. He was going to find his friend Peter, and by God they were both going to fucking hang out and relax! After all, Billy had been planning for this day for a good week, so of course, nothing was going to get in his way. 

 

* * *

 

Billy sat down on the edge of a roof and let out a big sigh, releasing the tension from his body and calming down his frustration. Well, there was good news. The good news being that he could for sure turn into his adult alter ego and search the entirety of New York much faster than he was as his normal self. 

But the bad news was that there was no sign of Peter anywhere.   

Seriously, Billy looked everywhere, from any small alley he could find to the highest rooftops in the city. He even flew all the way up to the very top of the Empire State Building, which was a pretty sick view, and still he couldn’t find Spidey. He did take a few pictures with a few tourists who wanted a selfie with them. He could never deny a seflie. Then they asked him if he was going to be a new Avenger. And Billy of course had no clue how to answer that, so he just said that he was stopping by to see a friend, and left it at that, leaving behind the superhero fans and flying back into the city. 

But so far, Billy had come up empty handed. Whatever Peter was doing right now, the brunet just hoped that he would come out and actually make an appearance. All of this flying and walking had made Billy hungry and tired, and he was saving the last of his money for hanging out with Peter. Although, at this rate, Billy doubted if he would ever get to see his friend before having to go back home. 

The hero groaned and placed his face in his hands. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t have his cellphone on him, he couldn’t contact Peter, and for all he knew the guy was running from the cops who believed that he was a mass murderer! 

If he was going to get Peter’s attention, he’d need to do something  _ big.  _ Like a Youtube video or maybe a shoutout or a light show or maybe even a giant sign! 

…

Giant sign…. 

Billy looked up and grinned mischievously as an idea came to mind. He hovered off of the ledge and with a swish of his cape, zoomed off into the direction of Times Square. Maybe this’ll get Spidey’s attention.

 

* * *

 

Billy sat on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, a bottle of root beer in hand, legs swinging over the side, and a simple FM radio playing music beside him as he watched the sky swirl in hues of soft pink, dazzling orange, and royal blue. The silver buildings sparkled gold and bronze with the remaining sunlight and the millions of windows reflected the beautiful sky above them, just as the day turned away into the night. Billy watched the city lights slowly begin to turn on, and he listened to the cars driving beneath him and the soft waves crashing and rippling against the bridge, the water turning into a silvery-blue and beginning to glow pink from the bright sunset. The clouds blurred together beautifully, their colors of blue and orange mixing to perfection, and the cool summer wind breezing on by, carefully caressing the boy’s hair and pale face. Billy smiled as he felt the night wind blow on by. And he reveled in the moment as he felt the cold soda bottle in his hand, listened to the soft, staticky music playing next to, and he drank in the incredible sight before him. 

He felt like he was in a painting. One big beautiful oil painting. And for a second, Billy wished that he could be stuck in this moment in time forever. He wished that he could speak a spell and trap it in a bottle and then come visit it whenever he wanted to. The teen smiled and breathed in deeply. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this relaxed and at ease. It had certainly been a while.

Billy took another swig of his soda and then turned to look at his watch.  _ 7:38  _ it said in it’s black digital numbers. The brunet sighed. Peter was three minutes late. If he was even coming at all. 

The teen tapped his finger on the cold stone and then turned back to watching the sunset. It was only three minutes, who knew how long swinging across the city took? Maybe it was reasonable for him to be three minutes late? Who knows? And with all of the stuff he had been dealing with, maybe Billy shouldn’t be so disappointed that his friend was a little late.

He watched the sun go down for a few more minutes when all of a sudden he heard a strange sound. Like suppressed air being released followed by a sharp  _ flick!  _

The boy’s head instantly turned at the sound and much to his delight, he saw a familiar red and black streak swing across the bridge and swoop onto the ledge, standing next to Billy with a backpack slung over his shoulders, and arms stiff.

“Really!?” the figure cried out as he slipped off his mask, revealing a mess of brown curls and the face that Billy knew to belong to his dear old multidimensional friend, Peter Parker. Peter unslung the bag from his back and plopped it onto the cement. 

“Did you actually have to burn a message into the Daily Bugle display at Times Square!?” 

Billy shrugged. “How else was I supposed to reach you?” he asked innocently. Peter gave him a Look as the spiderling pulled out his phone and brought up a picture and shoved it into Billy’s face. It showed the message that the Champion had electrically burned into the Daily Bugle screen, marring J. Jonah Jameson’s face. 

 

**_@Spidey, meet at Brooklyn Bridge. Sunset. Bring beef jerky and sandwiches. You still owe me._ **

 

Billy snickered. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t have to do that to JJJ’s face!”

“Eh, he was being annoying. And besides I needed a big sign to get your attention. I couldn’t find you!” 

“You could have texted me.”

“Don’t have my phone with me. And I doubt my foster parents’ phone plan covers interdimensional travel. Who knows how much that would cost?” 

Peter shook his head and then sat down next to Billy, a sigh escaping his lips. Billy reached behind him and grabbed another bottle of root beer from the box and then offered it to Peter, who gladly took it and popped the cap off, immediately taking a couple gulps. Apparently swinging around New York in a stuffy onesie was a lot more exhausting than it looked. 

“Did you bring what I asked for?” Billy said, his voice low as if he was mimicking a drug dealer. Peter scoffed and then handed Billy his backpack. 

“Yeah. Deli sandwiches from the best bodega in Queens and one pack of beef jerky.” 

“Yes!” Billy exclaimed as he fist pumped victoriously. He zipped open the bag and took out a sandwich along with his pack of jerky. Finally after weeks, he was being paid back. The brunet happily stuffed a long strip of jerky into his mouth and began munching happily. Peter scoffed at the younger boy and took another sip of his soda. 

The air between the two was quiet for a moment, before Peter spoke up, curious to know something. 

“So, why exactly did you come here? I mean, I get that we talked about it for like three minutes in your world, but like, why now?” 

Billy slowed down in his chewing, his face faltering for a moment, before he donned a facade and the sadness flickered out of existence. The boy swallowed and flashed a small grin. 

“What? Can’t a teen superhero visit another teen superhero? I thought it’d be fun!”

Peter stuttered. “I-I mean, I guess. But Billy doesn’t going to another dimension take a lot of work and preparation?”

“Hey, I just needed a Day of Chill alright? And I wanted to spend it with my friend!” 

The older boy gave Billy a look. “If you wanted to have a Day of Chill, then why didn’t you stay at your house with your brother like you did the last two times?” 

Billy averted his eyes from Peter and looked out onto the water and sunset. His eyes hardening defensively. He took another bite of his deli sandwich stubbornly and remained quiet. Peter sighed and leaned back onto his elbows, turning to look at the sunset as well. 

“I just needed to get away.” Billy mumbled, his gaze unwavering. Peter turned to look at Billy. “I’ve been having a pretty shitty summer. Wasn’t at all how I was wanting it to go. So I just decided to get away for a little bit.” 

Peter sighed and looked back to the golden water and shining city lights. “Yeah I feel that. I’ve been having a shitty summer too.”   

Billy scoffed. “Yeah I saw that. That’s horrible man, I’m really sorry that happened. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now.” 

Peter tsked. “Yep it sucks. Everywhere I go there’s just some civilian who calls out my name and accuses me of murder! And then the cops keep trying to catch me even after I do something good like stop a bike thief or a robbery or help an old lady cross the street! They just won’t leave me alone! Except for the 99th precinct in Brooklyn, those guys are cool. I hung out with them once before this whole mess started and they were pretty chill. Their detectives are pretty cool too, especially that Jake guy. He’s awesome. He let me play in Jimmy Jab Games once.” 

“What the hell is the Jimmy Jab Games?” 

“Oh it’s just something the 99 precinct does when they’re bored waiting on a riot or something. It’s pretty fun! But that’s off topic.” he said. Peter let out a bone-aching sigh. “At least they’re helping me out. They know that the video had to be a fake, so they’re helping me clear my name. So at least something’s look up.” 

“Well that’s good.” Billy said as he took another sip of root beer. Peter nodded. 

“Yeah, it is. And I finally got a girlfriend too! Her name’s MJ and she’s the best. I really think you two would be good friends actually.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah, you both have that like, reserved and strong silent vibe.” 

Billy chuckled lightly. “Gee thanks. And I’m glad to hear that some of your summer is okay.” 

Peter swallowed thickly and began to fidget with the bottle glass anxiously. “Yeah….some of it.” 

Both boys sighed in unison and watched as the sun dipped down below the horizon, turning from sunset into dusk. 

“So what happened to you this summer? What made you come all the way out here and drink root beer on the top of the Brooklyn Bridge?” 

Billy’s evergreen eyes clouded and darkened slightly, and even with the help of the still-bright sky, they still became shadowed with sadness.  

“I….lost someone.” the younger boy choked out. “She uhmm, she didn’t deserve it. And I uh, couldn’t save her.” 

Peter nodded his head thoughtfully and hummed. “Was she a girlfriend or someone special?” he asked earnestly. Which for some reason elicited a bark of harsh laughter from Billy. 

“No, no, she wasn’t a girlfriend.... If anything she was like a little sister to me.”     

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” Billy finished his sandwich and set down the garbage next to him. Then he began to rub his hands in the way he did whenever he felt anxious or scared, his personal way of comforting himself. “I couldn’t help her. She got sick and I couldn’t help her… and now she’s gone. Which is why I just…just had to...” 

“Had to get away.”  Peter finished for him. Billy nodded mutely and ducked his head. He let out a shaky sigh and rubbed his hands even harder. 

“Yeah.” 

“I get it.” Peter said, his voice taking on a strange melancholic yet steady tone. “Recently I, uh, lost someone important to me too. He was my mentor. He gave me a suit, trusted me, believed in me, offered me an internship, even made me an  _ Avenger _ . And he was like a dad to me, honestly.” Peter smiled softly, his mind slipping elsewhere, reliving old memories. “Tony was a great guy…..but he’s not here anymore. And for a while, I just...had to get away. I went on a school trip through Europe, tried to forget about being Spider-man, and I tried to escape by traveling the world....but no matter how much I tried to get away and run, he was always there. Everywhere I went, I saw his face. And it hurt. It hurt so much. But then, I was reminded by my friend Happy, that even though he wasn’t here anymore, Tony knew that I would be okay.” 

Peter placed a hand on Billy’s shoulder and noticed that there were light tear tracks on his friend’s cheeks. “And I’m pretty sure that she knew you were going to be okay too.” 

Billy nodded and his gaze flickered over to look at Peter, who had a kind smile on his face. Billy almost scoffed a laugh and he wiped away the tears from his eyes, his jacket soaking them up. Billy sniffled and turned to look at his friend. 

“Thanks, Peter.” 

“You’re welcome Billy.” 

The brunet rapidly blinked his eyes and sat up straight, breathing in deeply. “Woah, when did this become such a chick flick moment?” He asked sarcastically. Peter chuckled and shrugged as Billy wiped away the remaining signs of his grief. 

“Hey, every hero needs a chance to cry every once in a while. Happens to all of us, and plus it’s been scientifically proven that having a good cry is healthy for you.”  

“And when did you get so wise all of a sudden. It’s only been a couple of weeks since I last saw you!” 

Peter laughed and Billy smiled, enjoying having the older brunet for company. 

“Well having to run from the police and the FBI and dealing with all of this tragedy in life really gives you perspective.” 

“You never said you were running from the FBI!” Billy exclaimed. Peter shrugged. 

“Oh yeah I definitely am. I’ve been on the run for a little while. It’s a lot harder than it looks you know.” 

“Pfffttt, amateaur.” he muttered. Peter gave him a feigned hurt look and put a hand on his chest. 

“I’m sorry but running away is a lot more difficult than they make it seem in the movies.” 

“Oh tell me about it. There’s the whole sneaking around thing, not getting caught by police or social workers, then there’s finding food and shelter and sometimes you can go days without eating something. One time I had to last three days with half a granola bar, it was brutal. And then money is a whole other problem because on one hand you have to eat something but on the other hand you ask yourself ‘do I really need that right now or can I last longer without it?’ and oh my gosh don’t get me started on pigeons, those things are savage!” 

Peter stared at his friend for a second. “Sorry, but am I missing something here? Have you been homeless before?” Peter took a swig of his soda.

Billy shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe once or twice…..or twenty-two times.”

Peter spat out his soda comically and Billy started laughing. “You’ve been homeless  _ twenty-two _ times?!”  the older teen exclaimed. 

“Well, yeah I have, but it doesn’t matter, that’s in the past now. I’ll give you some pointers and tips later.” 

Peter shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t decide if I should be shocked that you have experience being homeless, or relieved that you’re gonna help me figure out  _ how  _ to be homeless.” 

“Just pick both then.” 

Peter glanced around Billy and looked at the trash around them, his eyes narrowed in thought, then he shot a look at Billy, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the older boy’s speculation. 

“What?” Billy asked. 

“How much have you eaten today?” he asked suddenly. 

“What!?” 

“How much have you eaten today! You said that one time you went three days with only half a granola bar and you were homeless, which means that I can only guess that you have a habit of trying to reserve food and money to the best of your ability.” Damn okay, Peter was smart. That is what Billy does. “So how much did you eat today?” Billy was taken back by the sudden mother henning of his friend, and it was even weirder since Peter was only three years older than him. And for some reason he reminded Billy a lot of Mary and Freddy. 

“Uhmm,” the teen said. “I had toast for breakfast, came here, had a hotdog, and then got the soda till you came around with a sandwich. That’s about it.” 

Peter nodded, and then stood up. “Alright let’s go.” he said. Billy looked up at him, alarmed and curious. 

“What? Why?” 

Peter offered a hand to Billy, who grabbed it, and hoisted him onto his feet. “Because there’s no way I’m letting you go hungry. You like Thai? My aunt’s ordering in Thai food tonight and she always leaves the window unlocked for me just in case.” 

“But aren’t you on the run?”

Peter waved his hand. “Eh, I can spend one night hanging out with a friend at my house. Plus, I’m getting really tired of sleeping in web hammocks. They dissolve every two hours so every two hours I fall on my face. It’s getting exhausting, and I’d love to sleep in my bed again.” 

Billy laughed, the mental image of Peter face planting on the ground making him smile. 

“Are you sure? It’s not too much of a bother?” Billy asked. Peter grabbed his mask again and slipped it back onto his face. 

“Yeah, totally! Now do you need a ride? Because I’m gonna be swinging back and I don’t really know how to get you down from here.” 

Billy smirked mischievously, “Nah I got that covered. Just lead the way.” and with that said, Billy stood on the ledge of the Brooklyn Bridge, arms spread out wide, back facing the ocean, and with no hesitancy fell backwards with a smile on his face. Disappearing from sight. 

Peter’s heart jumped into his throat and his eyes widened in fear. The spiderling lunged forward, intent on saving his friend, when suddenly a lightning bolt crashed down from the darkening sky and shot right past Peter, singing his suit. 

The brunet jumped away, a yelp escaping from his throat, and he frantically pat down his body as small streams of smoke curled from his body. He saw something bright red rise up out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Billy in his superhero body, covering up his mouth as he tried, and failed, to suppress a snicker. 

“Ha ha, very funny. You gave me a heart attack Billy!” 

The ‘adult’ giggled. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t resist. I absolutely love falling from high places and freaking people out, it’s just too much fun!” 

“Well it’s not fun for me!” Peter exclaimed. “That was a peak dumbass you know!” 

“Takes a dumbass to know a dumbass.” Billy said as he crossed his arms. Peter froze and pointed at Billy. 

“You got me there.” Billy smirked. “But anyway we should get going. It’s almost dinner time and getting to my apartment is a twenty minute swing.” 

“I bet I could make it there in two seconds.” 

“Well do you know where my place is?”

“......No.”

“Exactly. So you just gotta follow me. For a whole twenty minutes. Deal with it.” 

“Shut up!” 

Peter shrugged uncaringly and pulled on his backpack, tightening the straps. Then double checking his webshooters to see if they were full enough to get him home, he gave Billy a mock salute and fell off the side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Billy rolled his eyes and in a flash of gold cleaned up their garbage and the remaining jerky, and flew after him. No way was he going to litter the top of the New York monument.  

He followed Peter through the brightly lit city, taking in the sounds and sights. Every city had its own kind of life, that made it unique and special and different from each other. No city was ever the same and Billy enjoyed visiting other places to get to know their life and heart. The teen had always been a wanderer, ever since he was a kid, and he would always take his chance to explore and discover new things. Which is why running away had such an appeal to him. Because yes, running away to find his mom was the basic idea and sole reason why he left foster homes, but there was also the underlying reason of wanting to get out and see new things. 

Which is why having the power of Shazam was so amazing for Billy. Because with one word, Billy could turn into someone who can fly across the world and go anywhere at anytime and still be able to come home in time for dinner, with no one the wiser that he had left the continent. Billy felt free with these powers, like he wasn’t itching to get away, because he knew that if he wanted to see the Appalachian Mountains before breakfast, he could! And just that alone would satisfy his adventurous spirit. If only for a while. 

And now! He had entire multiverses to explore! How amazing was that!?

But of course, Billy knew that he shouldn’t wreak havoc and just go off to any dimension, because A) that would be stupid, and B) there were just too many dimensions to explore in one day. But maybe one day Billy would be able to visit all of them. One day….

The trip to Peter’s apartment took just as long as he said it would, twenty minutes, and with some help from Billy, they had discovered that the apartment had no cops or agents waiting for them inside. So the place was safe. 

Peter had told Billy that he would go in first, because he hadn’t seen his aunt in a few days and he also wanted to tell her that she was going to have a superhero guest over tonight. Which honestly made sense, it would be pretty overwhelming if the two just burst into the apartment with no warning whatsoever. 

So Peter climbed through the unlocked window, thanks to his adhesive ability, and Billy could hear the happy reunion between nephew and aunt from inside the warm apartment. The red-clad hero hovered anxiously outside the window, fidgeting with his white cape and waiting for Peter to come back. When all of a sudden he heard footsteps walk towards him from inside and he looked up to see Peter, with his mask off coming towards the window. A woman standing behind him at the door, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.  

“May, I’d like you to meet our guest for dinner! This is Billy, he’s a superpowered fourteen year old who can turn into an adult with lightning powers and can fly.”

“‘Sup.” Billy said. 

“Okay,” the woman, May, said, “What the fu-”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sigh* yep, a good chapter. I really wanted the boys to go over how shitty their summers were together and i decided that they needed some mutual understanding and comfort. Because this year has been rough on them.  
> So I hope you guys liked it! And as always i love reading what you guys have to say about it, the comments and kudos always make my day!  
> Love you guys and until next time!


	23. Blue Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> one of the Vasquez children loves the open blue sky... and he loves to fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is one of the shortest chapters ive ever written, its less than 2k, but i hope that the visuals and imagery make up for it!   
> This chapter pairs with chapter 4, the pluviophile oneshot, so i hope you guys enjoy it!

_ Perhaps you ache for freedom _

_ For the blue that’s in your eye _

_ Was given as a present _

_ From the fabric of the sky _

_ And when you're gazing skywards _

_ It’s no wonder that you yearn _

_ When part of what you're made of _

_ Always wishes to return _

 

* * *

Freddy Freeman always wished that he had blue eyes. 

 

He wished that his eyes were as blue as the open sky or as blue as the ocean waves. He wished that they could look like the deep never ending sea when the sun glittered through them, or that they could look so bright and radiant that it seemed impossible that there were no clouds floating through them. He wished that his eyes would look like there was a piece of the sky trapped inside of them, and he wished that he had blue eyes in the first place, that he wasn't born with his original color. 

Because he wanted to have a connection to the sky, something that made it seem like in this vast and crazy universe, that there was a chip of the grand blue inside of him. Because the sky was beautiful, in all of it’s shades and colors, and Freddy wanted to be a part of it.

But instead, he was stuck with his muddled brown. The color of dirt and of the earthly ground. Not the hue of freedom like he wished for. 

But Freddy childishly believed, that if he stared at the sky long enough, if he stared and gazed at its vastness enough, that the clear blue would somehow make its way into his eyes and replace the mud. 

But it didn’t. It never did. 

The raven was stuck with his muddled brown, and he knew that he never would have a connection to the sky in the way that he wanted. 

And then came along Billy Batson, his beloved foster brother, and with that came hope. But Freddy would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous that Billy could fly. The boy was envious that his brother had the ability to spend hours up in the sky among the clouds, and he was bitter that these powers weren’t given to him. These powers that could’ve made his dreams possible and real. He would’ve known what to do with them. He would’ve known how to use them. How come he wasn’t chosen?

But that dark voice in his head was tucked away, never to be heard from again, for Freddy refused to entertain it, much less listen to it. So he kept quiet. He didn’t say anything and he never told anyone these thoughts. And for a while, the raven had resigned himself to his fate. He accepted the fact that he wasn’t chosen, and he accepted the fact that he never would fly and be one with the open sky. 

Until, that is, Billy decided to share his powers with them. 

And then all of Freddy’s selfish thoughts went away. And then he said the magic word, the one that would grant him all of the powers he could ever want. The first thing he noticed, was how the lightning struck him. 

Now, a bolt of lightning has the speed of one third of the speed of light, meaning that one bolt is traveling 320,000,000 feet per second or about 220,000,000 miles per hour. Which is pretty fast. And you don’t exactly have enough time to think or even acknowledge what happens when you get struck. 

But when Freddy got struck with the living lightning, he didn’t feel the scorching heat of electricity or the cackling energy of the magic bolt, he felt light. Lighter than he ever felt before in his entire life. He felt as if he was a feather drifting along a breeze and this rush of cold flowed through him, filling him up inside and begging him to rise from the ground. He felt like the wind was poured inside of him and had made its home inside himself. 

He remembered his crutch clattering to the floor and he remembered feeling no ground beneath his feet. And then when he looked down, and when he saw a suit as blue as a summer sky and golden boots hovering over the straw and smoke, happiness and joy swelled up inside of him. 

“I can  _ fly _ .” were his first words. Because that was all he cared about in that small moment. He could  _ fly.  _

He didn’t set down his feet onto the ground for the rest of the night or until he had to turn back into his regular self. A great big grin split across the boy’s face as he stared up at the dark veil, waiting for Pedro to come back with his crutch, giggling happily as he kept reminding himself ‘ _ I had flown up there.’  _

Finally after years of waiting and longing, Freddy had finally flown in the sky. It was all he could ask for really, besides a best friend/brother, and he was happy beyond imagination. And when he got home that night, still smiling, he noticed that surprisingly he still felt light and that his leg didn’t hurt him the way it usually did. The raven did a small jump upon his discovery and he almost burst out laughing when he noticed that he didn’t immediately fall to the ground. Instead he seemed to fall in slow motion, almost as if he was in zero gravity or walking on the moon.

The wind had stayed with him, it was inside of him now, and Freddy went to bed with a big dopey grin on his face as he realized that he could still fly. Although on a more subtle level. 

The following weeks since Sivana, Freddy had become both a deep sleeper and an early riser. Some nights he would sneak out, and turn into his Shazam self, and he would fly through the dark sky, greeting the moon and stars as he rested on the wings of the breezes. Flying on his back and closing his eyes, reveling in the sensation of the wind on his face. He would laugh and spin and dive and flip and he would let the wind inside his chest guide him. 

Some mornings on the weekends when he didn’t have school, he would get up extra early and head out of the house. Most mornings the sky would still be dark and dew would be littering the ground in their starry droplets. 

Freddy would change and then he would take off, finding some place incredibly high, riding the winds with an unnatural grace that he couldn’t explain and he would hover above the clouds and watch as the sky turned grey, and then pink, and then gold, and then blue. 

He would stay up there for as long as he possibly could, before regrettably saying goodbye and heading back home.

And then there were days, where Freddy would look out to the sky after he had been staring at a screen or book for too long, and he would see the fluffy silver clouds. He would freeze where he stood and with no explanation he would walk to the outside world and say the word. No warning and no care for what his siblings thought. 

He would then spend the next couple of hours or so flying between the veils of clouds and diving in and out of their fluffiness. He would spin really fast and create sculptures resembling whipped cream, or he would stop unexpectedly and fall for a couple hundred feet and then level off. 

The wind would guide him in his fun, and it would sometimes flutter inside of him whenever he gazed out at the sky in the middle of class, it asking to be reunited with the place it had come from. 

And Freddy loved to fly, it was one of the greatest gifts he was ever given. 

He loved being able to fly so high that he couldn’t hear anything other than the wind whistling in his ears and the clouds drifting by slowly. And one of his favorite things was how incredibly timeless it all was when you saw the world from up there. It was like the entire world was frozen in one moment forever and Freddy was the only one able to freely move. 

He loved being able to come home from a good night of flying, his hair sticking up at crazy angles and his cheeks and ears a bright red from the wind burn. He loved being able to fly and float and hover and levitate and all of the in between.  

And not only that, but during one of the training days when he and Billy and all of their siblings were transformed, they all came to realize that Freddy was the best at flying out of all of them. 

Even better than Billy. 

He flew where the wind inside told him to go, and he followed it’s guidance, riding on the fastest wind currents, splitting the air in front of him so that he can go faster, feeling the currents around him and feeling where they went and how far, and using his cape for balance and aerodynamics. The raven was practically an expert in the art of flying!

Then when they had finished their training, they all smiled at Freddy proudly and praised him for his flying. And when they got home that night, all of them tired from their training and happy with their progress as a family and a team, Freddy laid on his bunk bed staring up at the wood of Billy’s bunk, trying to figure out the next time he could go flying. And it was then that he realized something. 

Yes, Freddy didn’t have the blue eyes that he always wished he could have. He didn’t have a physical trait that would let the world know how he was connected to the sky and how much he loved it. He didn’t have the clear blue or the vibrant azure or even the grey-blue that most people had. He didn’t have any of that, and he never will. 

But he did have something better. 

Which was a piece of the sky and wind inside himself. Something that actually made him part of the grand veil and wondrous horizon, and something that actually made him feel as light as air. 

Freddy felt the wind inside him flutter in his chest and the raven smiled contently. 

 

Freddy Freeman didn’t have blue eyes. 

 

 

But he had something much better.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i put some of my experience with blue eyes/brown eyes in here because for a while i wished that i had blue eyes for the same reasons i made Freddy wish he had blue eyes. And then after finding this poem, i just kind of thought it would be a good chapter to include. And this was also kind of inspired by the deleted scene from Shazam, because lets be honest, we all wouldve loved to have seen that scene in the movie!!   
> Anyway, i know i posted twice in two days, but eh, oh well.   
> Until next time guys!!


	24. Sleepless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Freddy can't sleep and Billy does what he can to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...  
> ......  
> .........
> 
> whelp, im still alive bitches.  
> Sorry for the four month hiatus, that wasnt planned at all and i got caught up with school, jobs, home, writers block, and depression and anxiety. So sorry that it took me this long to get the next chapter out. But now without further ado, here we go!  
> Hope you guys enjoy it.

The world is always quietest in the early morning. 

 

When no one is awake to hear the leaves rustling in the trees or the small drizzle of rain coming down from the sky. Animals walk across empty, slick roads, with no worries of being hit or being seen. They walk through the night unfazed and unbothered. No one there to see them and take notice of their presence. 

The early hours of the morning are always darkest, because they come right before the dawn. That small window in time when the moon is about to say goodbye and when the sun is getting ready to rise and say hello to the world.

It’s quiet...

                             It's still…

and it's timeless….

 

It’s that time of night when the silence is deafening, almost ringing in your ears with how overwhelming it is. It's that time when your thoughts are loudest and there’s no escaping them. The time of night when you could think about anything, whether good or embarrassing or bad, and there’s nothing to stop it. 

The early hour when you could think about your cute crush, and how beautiful their hair gleams or how their eyes glitter. When you could think about holding them in your arms as if that place was where you were meant to be. As if it was created just for you. 

You could think about how nervous you are for tomorrow. There’s nothing to be anxious about in particular, you’re just nervous. Nervous and scared about anything that might happen, or afraid of how overwhelmed you could be in a single heartbeat. You could be thinking about the last time that happened and how horribly it went and then you’re thinking about how you can avoid it. You can’t be nervous if you avoid the thing you’re nervous about. 

You might also be thinking of the strangest things. Thoughts that are so bizarre and wild that you could never think of them with a sober mind. They are the thoughts that only sleep deprivation can provide. 

You could feel your heart beating in your chest, keeping you from the pleasant tranquility of sleep. Or you might maybe even be tossing and turning in your sheets, somehow never finding a comfortable position to doze.

There is nothing but the sound of your thoughts, the rustling of your bedsheets, and the warm shadows to accompany you. 

Those with insomnia, always find different ways to deal with it. Some go see a doctor and get meds, while some opt for soothing teas and breathing exercises. There is no  _ wrong  _ way to work around insomnia, and for every person, it is different. 

For the boy sitting on the roof of his home, this is how he deals with it every other night. 

The cool, night wind ruffles his dark hair and bites his rosy cheeks. He gazes up at the stars in wonder and breathes in the comforting scent of decaying leaves and petrichor drifting in the air. It smells like autumn, and Freddy personally believes that it is the best season. 

That transition stage between summer and winter is his favorite time of the year. The trees look like they're dripping with golden honey, the annual rain and thunderstorms echo and crack across the sky, and the beautiful tones of red, orange, and gold leaves blanket over the pavement of sidewalks. Creating an almost mythical landscape. The sky turns white and grey and the sun begins to grow cold, and the puff of silver that leaves your lips when you breathe always leaves a smile on his face. 

Yes. 

Autumn is the best season. And there would be nothing to change his mind. 

The only thing he could do without though, is the biting cold that sinks its teeth into his bones. It leaves him shivering every time he sits on the roof and every time he tells himself he'll remember to put on a jacket next chance he can.

He should really know better. 

So there he sat, laying on the scratchy roof, and telling himself the very same thing that he always did each time he sat out here. He rubbed his arms with slowly numbing hands and tried his best to focus on the stars' shine. His bare feet felt like they were freezing, and Freddy wished that he could've remembered to put on shoes. 

Freddy doesn't really know when the whole insomnia thing began, if he was being honest. If you gave him a calendar and asked him to pinpoint the day it started, he would just give you a blank look and most likely tell you leave him alone. But if he really thought it, which he had, he would have come to the conclusion that it gradually grew. 

It began as a seed. One planted the day he was caught by Sivana and forced to tell who and where his brother Billy was. The raven-haired boy shivered, and this time it wasn't from the cold.and over time, that small seed began to grow into something that became a nuisance in the teen's life. 

It started off as not getting tired so quickly in the evening, which then led to him staying up late. And then it developed into him waking up randomly in the middle of the night, never a definitive reason why he woke up other than he Just Did. And soon those periods grew longer and more frequent and much harder to deal with as the school days wore on. 

It was starting to affect his life. 

He forgot things, more than he usually did, and he tended to zone out dangerously and often. His eyelids became heavy and dark, purple bags hung underneath his once bright eyes. His leg started to act up more, and he became more easily irritated and frustrated. Which did not go unnoticed by his family. 

Billy was the first to notice his episodes. For having regular nightmares and normal patrols throughout the night made it easy for Billy to climb into his bedroom window and see Freddy hunched over his desk or sitting up in bed. 

And that was when their nightly routines began. 

Freddy would wake up, and whether or not Billy was awake too, he would get up and sit in his room or go out onto the roof to stargaze. Sometimes he'd bring a book with him too, but he had already read all of the books on his bookshelf, twice. And if Billy was awake or not, he would come and join him wordlessly. They were both too tired to engage in their normal light-hearted bickering, and with the recent development of Freddy's short-fused frustration and tiredness, it was best for both of them to just relax and enjoy the other's presence. But that didn’t mean there weren’t any exceptions every now and then. 

And most of the time it helped both of them sleep better. So neither were complaining. 

Freddy sat on the roof, clutching tightly to himself and looking up at the stars as they poked through the grey veil, and only when he heard the sound of footsteps landing close to him did he turn his gaze away from them. 

He turned around and craned his head to see who had made the sound, but he already had a pretty good idea of who it was. A glow of gold and a little bit of bright red peeked around the corner of the house and a small smile flitted across the newcomer’s lips. 

Billy. 

He was still in his Shazam form, obviously, and it looked like he just got home from his nightly patrol. He offered Freddy a sympathetic smile and began to creep across the roof wordlessly. Just like he always did. Then without asking why Freddy was out here at such an insane hour, sat down beside him and draped a side of his cape across his brother's shoulders. 

Freddy gladly grasped the thick and soft material and wrapped it tightly around him, the two sitting shoulder to shoulder. 

"Hey." Freddy said in a hushed tone. The brunet looked at him with a warm glint in his eyes and nodded. 

"Hey." He said in the same tone. Billy sighed. "I saw that you forgot to bring a jacket again, so I hope that this helps a little." 

Freddy scoffed a quiet laugh. "Yeah, it does. Thanks."

"What was it this time? Nightmares?" Billy asked softly. Freddy looked away and turned back to the stars, although this time it was more out of avoidance than wonderment. 

"No. I just woke up." 

Billy hummed next to him. "Know why?" He asked. Freddy shook his head and cast his gaze downwards, now looking at the pile of leaves they had just raked earlier that day. Victor had made a huge deal out of it, calling out everyone who was able to work on the yard to come and help and as strange as it was, they had all made a day of it. Billy, Pedro, and Victor raked the mountains upon mountains of leaves while Freddy and Darla helped Rosa trim the trees and bushes surrounding their house. And Mary had surprisingly volunteered to climb on top of the roof and dig out all of the leaves that filled up the gutters. And then afterwards, when their cheeks were pink from the cold, and their hands blistering from the hard work, they went inside and made some hot chocolate. With the exception of Mary and Rosa choosing herbal tea instead. 

It was a good day in the sense of hard-work and earning your rest, but for Freddy, that rest still eluded him. 

"No. But then again I never really know why, so it's not much use to think about it anyway." 

Billy nodded and looked down at the leaves as well, mirroring Freddy, and began swinging his legs back and forth. "Yeah, that's fair I guess."

A comfortable silence hung between the two of them, and another wave of crisp wind flew by them, shaking the leaves below them and around them. Freddy shivered at the sudden onslaught of autumn cold and Billy looked back at him, brows slightly furrowed.

Then without saying anything, he wrapped one of his arms around the other teen's shoulders and hugged him close to his side. Freddy leaned into the touch and laid his head on Billy's arm, a tired sigh leaving him. 

"Thanks." He mumbled. Billy nodded again and just held Freddy. 

The brunet would never truly would say this out loud, but he honestly  _ loved  _ hugging people as his adult self. Just the sense of being able to envelop someone in his arms and hold them and keep them safe, made him feel all warm and content inside. A couple of months ago when he first arrived at the Vasquez household, he never would have ever thought about hugging people. Because hugging people made him feel vulnerable and unsafe and uncomfortable. He didn't like the idea of a hug, because to Billy, it was just another way to hide your face. It had felt conniving and untrustworthy. 

But now, after having lived with this family for so long, the idea of a hug gained a new meaning. Instead of a ploy to gain trust and then use for betrayal, it turned into a wordless form of reassurance. A note that said that no matter what, they were here for him and willing to comfort him when he needed it. That he would always have them by his side and ready to let him know that he was loved and cherished. A silent reassurance that they were there and that they would never leave him behind. 

So now whenever Billy hugged someone, that was his way of saying  _ 'I'm here. And I'm not leaving you. I'm here and I will protect you from whatever comes your way. I'm here, and I won't leave you alone.' _

And that was what he was saying to Freddy right now.  _ I'm here.  _

Freddy huddled up against Billy's side and let his bad leg dangle off of the edge of the roof as Billy laid his head on top of his.

"So how were the bad guys tonight?" He mumbled into the white cape. 

"Not bad. There was a car chase and I got to lift a truck. So that was cool." 

Freddy grinned. "Awesome." 

"Yeah, it was pretty badass." 

"Did you try to use a cool catchphrase?" 

Billy scoffed. "Freddy, I think at this point we can both agree that me using a catchphrase is just something that isn't gonna work."

The raven shrugged from beneath the cloak. "Well okay, that just means we're gonna need a theme song then."

Billy snorted and sputtered, lifting his head off of Freddy's. "What? No, no, no, I'm not having a freaking theme song. That's so dumb." 

"Why not?" Freddy asked, "A theme song would be great! I actually have one in the works if you want to hear it." 

"No I don't wanna know, okay? Just shut u-."

" _ I'm gonna shout my name from the edge of it all! When danger looks my way know I'll answer the call!"  _

"Jesus Christ,  _ stop!  _ I told you to shut up!" 

" _ Feel the electricity, you know this city won't be the saaame. You'll all be shouting my name."  _

"Shut up! Or I swear on the Rock that I'll dump you off this roof." 

Freddy snorted and began laughing quietly. "You're gonna swear on Dwayne Johnson?" 

Billy scoffed, but even he could help the ridiculous grin that made its way onto his face. "Okay you know what? That's it, no more cloak privileges for you." And just like that Billy drew away his arm and took back his side of the cape. All the while Freddy complaining and apologizing, promising that he'll shut up about the theme song and anything about Dwayne Johnson. 

Billy gave him a skeptical look, purposefully acting like an asshole as he tilted his head up and tapped his finger against his chin as if in thought. Freddy grumbled and wrapped his arms around him once again as another breeze passed them by, sending goosebumps down his arms. 

"Dick." He muttered. Billy smirked triumphantly before shrugging. 

"Okay fiiiine," he handed Freddy back his side of the cloak and let the smaller boy wrap himself in the soft fabric, stretching it as far as it would go. Billy smiled and continued to hug him again.

It was quiet for a little bit after that, both boys just enjoying each other's company. They listened to the wind and Freddy relished the sensation of the warm cape surrounding him and the feeling of being held by his foster brother. It was nights like these that Freddy tended to love the most. When it was just the two of them and when the world was quiet. It was moments like these when Freddy found what little peace he could find and he held onto it like a lifeline. His life had become so stressful and exhausting in the past couple of weeks, that whatever amount of peace or rest he got, he held onto it with a death grip. 

And this was another one of those peaceful moments that he was never going to let go. 

And soon before he could fully register it, his eyes became heavy and he had fully gone limp against Billy's side. For the first time in days, Freddy was ready to go to sleep. 

Billy ducked his head to look at Freddy and a soft smile grew across his lips. He gave the smaller teen a little nudge,

"Hey…Freddy...ready to go to bed?" He whispered. The raven hummed and somehow wrapped the cloak even tighter around him, nuzzling his head against the other teen's shoulder. Billy took that as a yes. 

"Alrighty then." The Champion muttered. "Come on sleepy head, let's go. I’m sure Rosa won’t appreciate it if you get a cold from being out here too long. Plus it’s way past our bedtime." 

Freddy mumbled defensively, his voice lilting with tiredness, “Fuck you, I don’t have a bedtime.” 

The brunet scoffed. “Yeah… sure you don’t.” 

Shuffling his hold on his brother and angling towards him more, Billy effortlessly scooped up the smaller raven in his arms and floated up until he could land his golden boots on the roof.

Freddy didn't so much as open his eyes. Although he did notice when he felt that the cape wasn't curled around him even more. So instead he curled up against Billy as he walked across the roof and opened up their window from the outside. 

The curtains by the window ruffled at the sudden night wind that entered the room, and Billy held his breath as he slowly began to float through the window. And as gently as he could, without jostling the raven in his arms, Billy set himself down on the floor. Boots quietly padding across the worn hardwood as he turned to their bunk bed and continued to place Freddy in his respective bunk. Once the smaller teen was lying on his bed, Billy straightened up and whispered the Wizard’s name. 

"Shazam."

 Billy said the name as quietly as he could, but the lightning bolt that cracked through their bedroom window didn't give a shit about being silent, and ended up startling Freddy somewhat awake. 

The raven jolted in bed, almost sitting up as he rested on his elbows, and blinking blearily at his surroundings. But when he saw the smoke that curled around Billy's now normal self, he layed back down and groaned in annoyance.

"Uugghh...asshole." he mumbled into the air above him. Billy shrugged. 

"Sorry." 

The brunet shuffled his way forward again, and in a very Motherly Rosa fashion, proceeded to pull the sheets up and over Freddy’s dozing form, tucking him in. It’s an act of kindness and love that Billy never would’ve thought he would one day do, yet here he was doing it. 

He patted Freddy’s shoulder and went to brush aside some of the tangled, messy hair from his face. The raven hummed in response and burrowed his face even deeper into his pillow. 

Billy softly smiled. “Night, you dumbass.” 

“Mhhmm…”

Billy drew back his hand and went to the ladder that led up to his bunk bed, smiling and shaking his head softly as he climbed up the rungs. Both amused by his brother and glad that he was able to finally find some rest after the rough night he had. 

 

Freddy didn’t wake up once the rest of the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short and sweet and fluffy. Just the way i enjoy it!  
> And again im really sorry for dropping off the face of the earth, i dont mean for it to happen. Lets hope that the next chapter wont take as long! 
> 
> Until next time you guys! I love you all


	25. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Billy's first real Christmas with the Vasquez's and it can't be any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....my brain is dead, and I know that it's been a few weeks since i last updated, but school and depression have really been hitting me hard, but thankfully tho, it's lightening up a little so thats not too bad.   
> I wanted to give you all a fic since it's the holiday season, and i know that im a day late, but please enjoy this new chapter!!

It had been one whole year, and it was Billy’s first real Christmas with the Vasquez’s. 

And he was more than excited to get the season started. In the past, Billy was never really the most fond of Christmas, it was just another holiday that was full of ridiculous propaganda bullshit and it always reminded him of the day where he lost his mother. Or more accurately, when his mother abandoned him. All of the commercials showing happy families in warm houses with lots of presents, just wasn’t reality and it made him feel stick to his stomach. 

All of the past foster homes who either cared too much about Christmas or cared too little about it didn’t make the holiday that much better either. And since Billy never really had much money to begin with when he was on the streets, presents were few and far between. The last time he had gotten an expensive present was years ago, and that was with a family that was long gone by now. One that didn’t want him 

But this year...this year things were different. 

Because first off, this was the first Christmas where he wasn’t pining for a mother that didn’t care for him. And it was also the first Christmas where he had enough money to actually buy presents for a family that wanted him. 

It was the first Christmas where he wasn’t sick of the stockings on the mantle or the tree hunting for the living room. It was the first Christmas where he was looking forward to watching the classic movies on the Hallmark channel and it was the first Christmas where he helped his foster dad put up lights on the house. 

They had made a day of it, just him and Victor. Since Billy was light enough to get on the roof, and wasn’t a total klutz like Eugene or too young like Darla, he had helped Victor set up the bulbous, obnoxious Christmas lights, and he loved every second of it. 

It was also an exciting time for another reason because Mary was coming back home from Caltech to visit for her break. Darla was probably the most ecstatic about her return, but not even Pedro who was always so impassive, could hide the smile on his face when Mary walked through the front door. 

They went out to dinner to celebrate her return, going to one of their favorite restaurants and exchanging stories about things that Mary had missed out on. It had only been a few months since she started her semester at Caltech, and already she was exhausted of all the work. She still enjoyed the classes, obviously, and she loved the campus and the friends she had made there, but sometimes it was all too stressful. 

So these next few weeks were going to be a blessing for her.  

It was also the first Christmas where Billy had superpowers of all things. If you had told him over a year ago that he would have the powers of ancient gods and be a superhero, he would have called you a crazy crackhead and ran away from you. Maybe even have stolen your wallet, but you get the point. 

Which is, Billy never thought that he would enjoy Christmas as much as he was enjoying it now. 

He was already on school break, thank God, and he and Mary were shopping for presents. The mall was packed with people, as it should be, and they were just talking about nothings and having a good time. They had both gotten presents for most of the family, except for each other obviously, and they had decided to go see a movie to end the day on. And it was when they were walking towards the theater connected to the mall that Mary stopped in her tracks and stared at something through a shop window. 

Billy froze in his steps and turned to look at his sister. “What?” he asked. And then she pointed to something inside the store. A toy store. 

Billy walked over and looked at what Mary was pointing at, and when he saw it, happiness flooded through him. It was an action figure set of all of them as superheroes. The entire Shazam family, or Shazamily as Freddy calls them. The sight of the set made both of the siblings smile and Billy couldn’t help but giggle as he pointed at how ridiculous his action figure looked. 

“Why do I look so ripped?” he asked, not able to keep a straight face. Mary giggled too. 

“I don’t know, but at least you look like you have muscles.” 

“Yeah.” 

They left it at that and turned away from the store; they had a couple of minutes before the movie started and they didn’t want to be late for the new Frozen movie. 

 

* * *

 

They arrived home to the house smelling like greasy oil and strawberry jam. It was a strange combination, but not an unwelcome one, and Billy’s eyebrows draw together in curiosity as he sets down his bags. 

“Hey, what’re you guys making?” he calls out.

Mary’s face lights up as she enters the house and smells the aroma wafting through the air and Billy assumes that she knew what it was. “Oh!” She says excitedly, “Are you guys making those sufg-sufgi- saf-”

“Sufganyots?” Freddy asks from the kitchen, poking his head out of the doorway. His hair is in its usual unruly mess and even from where they were standing they could see the shimmer of sweat barely on his brow.

Mary gives a relieved smile. “Yeah, that!”

“Yep!” Freddy says as he ducks back into the kitchen. Mary and Billy hear clattering coming from the area and begin making their way over to the entrance, shedding their jackets as they did so.   

“Sorry, what are you making?” Billy asks, still confused. He is met with the sight of Freddy and Rosa cooking something over the stove with Darla right next to them with powdered sugar on her too-big apron. 

“Sufnots!” Darla exclaimed excitedly. Freddy smiled, finding the attempt she made at pronouncing the word humorous. 

“They’re sufganyots.” He explains, turning back to whatever he was doing. Billy made a face.

“What on earth are those?” 

“Well, they’re basically jelly-filled doughnuts.” Freddy explained. 

“Oh, then why didn’t you just say they were doughnuts then?” 

“Because they’re not doughnuts.” 

“But they’re jelly-filled doughnuts right?”

“They’re deep fried dough balls with strawberry preserves!’ 

“So a doughnut?”

“No! It’s not a fu-freaking doughnut!” Freddy exclaimed, barely catching his slip up and replacing it with a more child-friendly word for the sake of Darla. Billy bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing as Freddy sighed in annoyance and turned to Rosa, who smiled before looking to Billy. 

“Sufganyots are a Jewish dessert, honey. It’s for Hanukkah.” Billy blinked in surprise.

“Wait, we’re celebrating Hanukkah?” Billy asked, interested curiosity piquing in his voice. Rosa hummed in affirmation and then turned back to the giant pot on the stove, where she was using a spoon to mess with some ball looking things frying in oil. 

“Yeah, cause I'm Jewish dumby.” Freddy said with a strange glint in his eyes, as if he was expecting Billy to say or do something and he was preparing himself for it. The brunet didn't get exactly what he was expecting, but what he said next clearly wasn’t it, and it surprised him.

“Wait,” Billy said. "You are? Wow. Learn something new every day." 

The glint in Freddy's eyes vanished, and a small smile grew on his face. "Yeah, I don't really talk about it much." 

“That’s cool. So what exactly do you do during Hanukkah?”  

Freddy turned to the pot and used a spatula to move around some of the dough balls, flipping them over. “Well basically you light candles on the menorah, say a few prayers, and eat lots of deep fried food like latkes and sometimes chocolate coins. So, therefore, the sufganyots.” 

“Oh! That’s cool. I don’t know, I’ve never really celebrated Hanukkah before.” 

“That’s fine Billy,” Rosa said. 

“But!” Freddy said with a snarky grin on his face. “You  _ do  _ owe me eight presents instead of just the one!”

“What!?” 

Mary smacked Freddy upside the head and turned to their foster brother. “He’s just messing with you. Since there’s eight days of Hanukkah somtime’s families exchange gifts. One for each day.” 

“So I still have to get him eight presents?” 

Freddy began scooping golden brown sufganyots out of the pot and onto a cooling dish rack. “Well no,” he said before giving a shit-eating grin. “But I would greatly appreciate it.” 

“Pfft, shut up.” Mary said, giving him another nudge before walking out of the kitchen to gather her shopping bags and heading upstairs to wrap them. 

“It’s okay Billy, you don’t have to get Freddy eight presents. Don’t worry about that.” Rosa said, a smile on her face as she watched her children bicker with each other. 

“Oh okay, that’s good. Because I’m  _ broke _ .” 

Freddy scoffed. “You’re not broke.” 

Billy started walking out of the kitchen to gather his bags and follow Mary’s lead. “No, but I will be by the time the season ends!”  

The brunet could hear his brother’s laugh as he climbed up the stairs and to their room, and even he couldn’t hide the smile that had grown on his face. 

 

* * *

 

“I still don’t get it,” Billy said. “Why the hell do you listen to Christmas trap remixes if you’re Jewish?”

“Hey! I can’t deny a good trap when it comes along. And Christmas trap just so happens to be the best! So sue me!” Freddy said defensively as everyone in the van began piling out of it and onto the gravel. 

“Are you hearing this?” Billy asked as he turned to Mary. The older girl just shrugged and helped Darla climb out of the car. The frost crunched beneath their feet as they all eight of them gathered together before entering the park. 

“Okay!” Victor exclaimed as he rounded the car and came up beside them. “Some guidelines before we enter. Number one: we don’t all have to stick together if you don’t want to, but I would rather you guys go off into groups of three if you do decide to explore. And Rosa and I want to be told where you’re going and where to meet you guys when you’re ready to meet up.” The whole family began walking towards the entrance of the park and the buzz of excitement could be felt vibrating in the air. “Number two: the park closes at 10pm, so we’ll be leaving around 8:45. It’s 5pm now, so that’ll give you all plenty of time to have some fun. And Mary, since you’ve been with us the longest, would you make sure that these dumbies don’t get lost?” Victor said as he pointed at Billy, Freddy, and Eugene. 

Mary snickered and nodded. “I will do my best.” 

“Wait, hold on, why is  _ she  _ baby-sitting us? We’re like basically fifteen!” Freddy said, looking mockingly offended as they all came up to the ticket booths. 

“Well, technically I am fifteen.” Billy said. 

“Freddy, we don’t need to remind you of your tendency to wander off. And you do remember the winter of 2015, right?” Rosa said gently, but also pointedly, just like a mother would. Freddy pouted. 

“Yeah.” 

“Uh huh, we don’t want that happening again. Also it’s Billy’s first time here!” 

“Wait, what happened in 2015?” Billy asked, but his words fell on deaf ears.

“Now come on kids, Victor’s waiting on us!”  

“What happened in 2015!?” 

Eventually the brunet scurried back over to his family, and caught up to them when they all stopped beneath the colored lights of the sign. It was the beginning of the theme park, and Billy was excited to find out what wonderful and colorful attractions he would find inside. His breath came out in silvery puffs and he drew his corduroy jacket closer to himself. Smiling as he watched Victor spread his arms out as if he was presenting something marvelous. Which he kind of was. 

“Alright! Here we go! Billy, welcome to the Lights of Christmas!”  

 

* * *

 

Billy, to put it simply, was amazed. 

He had read in a pamphlet that there were over a million lights used for the creation of the park, and in the beginning he doubted how someone could use a million Christmas lights for anything. But now he believed it. 

They had started off with getting the donuts, which apparently there was a donut stand where they made homemade cinnamon donuts. And while the line was indeed long, the wait was definitely worth it. 

Then afterwards, Darla had wanted to go explore the Candy Cane tunnel, which was pretty much exactly how it sounded, with a giant archway made up of red and white lights in the pattern of a candy cane. Which honestly was pretty spectacular. And then she had wanted to get hot chocolate, but Mary said that they would be back for it later. 

And it wasn’t long before Billy and Freddy wanted to break off from the group to explore on their own. But with a stern look and reminder, Mary ended up going with them too. 

They followed the walkways and looked on at all of the displays in wonder, and even though Mary and Freddy had been here multiple times before, they still found amazement and beauty in the sights. They followed the Starlight trees, dozens of multicolored lights strung up into shapes of trees with stars on top, until they got to the Baylights.

An entire display created to look like a pirates ship coasting over the white-cap peaks of the ocean, with an orca jumping out of the waters and creating a splash. It was almost impossible how all of these images could be created with just Christmas lights, and yet here they stood proudly. 

Billy couldn’t get enough of it. 

They then followed the path, with Mary walking close to them, until they reached the Wonderland part of the park. It was mainly an attraction for the kids, but even the teenagers and adults that were there were enamored by it. Which is why it was no real surprise that they found Rosa and Darla over there petting the sheep in the petting zoo. 

Freddy, upon seeing them, quickly made his way over and happily joined his younger sister in stroking the thick wool on the sheep. He asked Mary to take a few pictures and she did so with a smile. Even managing to capture one of Billy with a sheep trying to eat his coat. 

Afterwards all five of them decided to stick together and Billy ended up carrying Darla on his back. But he didn't mind, he was having too wonderful a time to care about the extra weight on his shoulders. 

They went into the Light Maze next, and much to his surprise, it was a lot harder than it looked. You would think that with a maze made entirely of light strands that it would be easy to find a way out. But apparently not.

Because thanks to all of the lights, the fact that there were so many lights, and the pitch black darkness, it made it a lot more difficult to discern which way was right or wrong. 

It took them an embarrassingly long time for them to get out of it, and by the time they did, Mary was laughing her ass off. On a normal day it might have wounded Billy's pride, but even he couldn't suppress the child-like laugh escaping from him. 

They walked beneath a tree that looked like it had fire raining down from it's branches. Golds and oranges and reds and yellows hung from the charcoal colored tree in streams and Billy gazed up at it in wonder. He couldn't even begin to understand how they did that. It reminded him of the lightning bolt that struck him and his family every time they said the magic word, and the thought brought a smile on his face. 

After a few more brilliant spectacles, Rosa and Billy went off to gather some snacks for everyone. Freddy was resting his leg on a log by a bonfire, one of many that surrounded the park, and Mary and Darla were going through the pictures that the older girl got. Billy sighed contently and adjusted his coat, turning back to the menu on the cart. Rosa looked at him with a bright glint in her eyes and wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders. The boy leaned into the embrace, something he would not have done a year ago, and laid his head on her shoulder. 

"I'm glad you're here with us Billy." She said, he voice full of warmth. Billy smiled at the sound. 

"I'm glad I'm here too." 

"We've been coming here for a long time. Before Mary was with us actually, and it's always been an annual trip for this family. I'm so glad that we can share it with you."

Billy swallowed and took a second to truly treasure this moment and her words. The cold biting his cheeks, his sore feet, the lights surrounding him, his brother and sisters chatting idly by the fire, and his foster mom beside him. The fuzzy feeling he felt in his heart grew and he wanted nothing more than to stay in that moment forever. 

He realized a second too late that he had been quiet for a long time, and anxiety panged through his heart like a shot. He didn't want Rosa to think that he was ignoring her. 

"Uhm, I'm really glad too... I never really thought that I could have something like this, so thanks, Rosa." 

Rosa smiled. "You're welcome,  _ mi amor _ ." 

"Next!" They heard the cart vendor shout and the mother and son were brought back to reality as they realized it was their turn. Rosa dropped her arm and walked up to the cart. 

 

* * *

 

They walked around the remainder of the park munching on candied nuts and drinking hot chocolate, courtesy of Darla's insistence and laughing and enjoying each others company. It was getting close to 8:30 when Freddy's leg started to bother him, so the Vasquez family decided to call it a night and head home. It was getting close to the young ones bedtime anyway. They shuffled out back to their car, full of sweets and warm drinks, and tired from the evenings activities. 

Billy and Pedro ended up helping their brother climb back into the old, brown van and Mary helped Darla get buckled in. By the time that they were all settled and ready to go, she and Eugene were knocked out with their heads lolling against the headrest.

The drive back home was quiet and peaceful, with a mumbled comment or sigh every once in a while. The sky was dark and Billy was fortunate enough to snag a window seat for himself, much to Freddy's displeasure, but in the end he was glad he got it, otherwise he'd have fallen asleep against the vibrating window instead of a comfy shoulder.  

Billy glanced outside, watching the dark blurs and speeding headlights and turned back to the inside of the car. Freddy drooling on his shoulder and Mary leaning against him. Darla and Eugene sleeping in their seats, and Pedro listening to music as he watched the outside world roll by. 

The brunet smiled and snuggled deeper into his seat. 

 

* * *

 

"Freddy you sure you want me here for this?" 

"For, what? For  _ this?"  _ The raven said as he gestured to the candles and the lighter and small silver menorah sitting by the windowsill. "Yeah, of course why wouldn't I want you here?" 

Billy shrugged. "Well, I just kinda thought that this was something for you, and I don't know, I feel like I'm intruding a little? Maybe?" 

Freddy gave his brother a look before scoffing a laugh. Shaking his head and turning back to the menorah. "Billy, of course I want you here. And I mean, I want to share this part of my life. So come on, stop being an idiot and get over here."

Billy gulped and shuffled over, joining his brother on the cushioned bay window and still feeling a little out of place as Freddy put a tall candle into one of the silver holders. And as he took up the lighter he began saying a blessing, lighting the candle as he did so. Billy didn't know exactly what the words meant, even though he's pretty sure Freddy explained it, but he did know that they sounded pretty, so the teen was content with listening to it. 

He smiled with Freddy as he backtracked to recite the sayings more properly after he messed up and when he was done, they took a small second to look at the menorah. Standing proudly and beautifully as it's single candle shown against the dark glass of the window, illuminating the shadows surrounding it. 

Freddy leaned his head against Billy's shoulder and Billy mirrored the action. "Thanks Billy." Freddy said quietly. The brunet's face contorted into mild confusion. "For what?" 

Freddy shrugged. "Just for being here." 

Billy chuckled lightly, and pushed Freddy's head away good-naturedly. "Okay, you sap." He mumbled softly. 

 

* * *

 

Christmas Day eventually came, and the day was full of tired excitement. At roughly five in the morning, Eugene ran through the house and launched himself onto Rosa and Victor's bed. The only reason anyone knew this had happened, was because he was screaming "CHRISTMAS!" at the top of his lungs the entire way there. Billy had startled awake at the yell, the name of the Wizard a split-second away from leaving his mouth out of reflex, but when he realized that it was just his younger brother, he groaned and face-planted into his pillow. 

It was too early for this, Christmas or not. 

It wasn't until about eight that people actually started stirring from their slumbers. It was a hassle, getting everyone out of their beds, and it was only when coffee was promised that everyone gathered in the living room. 

Billy was pretty sure that Freddy was on his second cup by the time they actually started opening presents. 

They had started off with the stockings, which Billy found to be a nice surprise. He never really had his own stocking before, having jumped around foster homes too much to stay long enough to get one, so seeing one covered in red glitter, with little lightning bolts pinned on it, filled to the brim with small gifts was enough to make his heart swell with joy. 

There were tiny chocolates and cheap toys in the stockings, including some strange unicorn finger slingshots. Billy had no idea what to do with that, but he freaking loved it. 

And it started off with Darla giving the first gift. Which was to Mary. It was a nice notebook and pen with floral patterns on the binding, and it looked quite fitting for the college girl. And from there, everyone went around and gave gifts to their respective recipients. 

Freddy got a superhero journal, where you could create your own superheros and write down their powers and backstory; but one look from the raven and Billy knew what he was actually going to use it for. Documenting.  

Pedro got a nice headset for his music, which he enjoyed very much.

Darla got some fluffy purple socks and a matching jacket to go with them. 

Eugene got video games, some which would be considered to be too violent for a ten year-old.

Rosa got bath salts and candles.

Victor got some cooking supplies and a big cookbook

And Billy's first gift, was probably the cheesiest and stupidest thing he's ever gotten. It was from Freddy, and a millisecond after peaking inside the bag, Billy wanted to die. Both from excitement and embarrassment. He gave Freddy a look and tried his best not to laugh. 

"What is it Billy?" Rosa asked, her interest piquing.

"Yes Billy, please, show us what it is." Marry said, giving him a look that told Billy that she knew exactly what it was. 

He reached into the bag and pulled out a red shirt with an all too familiar lightning bolt emblem on it. Everyone cheered as they saw the shirt and Billy couldn't help but laugh. 

"Wait! There's more!" Freddy exclaimed. He stood up from the couch, with Billy following his movements suspiciously as he left the living room. He was gone for a minute or so, everyone holding their breath and waiting in anticipation, and when he returned they all broke out into cheers once more. 

He was wearing a shirt  _ identical _ to Billy's, and giving the most shit-eating grin the brunet has ever seen. 

"Now we match!" He said happily. 

"Ha ha," Billy said sarcastically. He tugged the shirt over his pajamas and raised an eyebrow in question. "Happy?"

"Yes, very." Freddy said as he nodded. 

"But now it's my turn to give you your present! And I gotta say, I really think I outdid everyone this year, it's pretty good." He teased.

"Hey Billy, come on, everyone does a good job." Victor lightly said. The teen shrugged. He stood up and reached beneath the tree to grab the gift, a box, and plopped it in Freddy's lap. 

"There you go buddy. Enjoy." 

Freddy gave him a quizzical look, before tearing open the paper and casting away the ribbon. Billy couldn't help the smile that crept its way onto his face as he saw the moment of realization dawn on Freddy's face. The curly-haired boy looked up from the gift and gave Billy the deadest look he had ever seen. 

"Are you serious?" He asked. The brunet nodded. 

"Why, Freddy what is it?" Rosa asked politely, glancing over the furniture to see the gift. Freddy sighed and held up the gift, its picture frame gleaming in the morning light. 

"It's a signed autograph from the hero of Philadelphia." 

Excited gasps came from Victor and Rosa and everyone else was looking between Freddy and Billy, wondering whether or not to laugh. Mary snorted and Pedro began to chuckle, covering up his mouth to hide it.

"Oh Billy that's an amazing gift! How on earth did you get that?" Victor asked. Billy shrugged and leaned back on the couch cushion. 

"He volunteers at soup kitchens sometimes, and I just managed to be able to catch him on one of the days he was there." 

"Wow! Well that is certainly lucky! Nice job." 

Rosa gestured to hold the autograph and Freddy was more than happy to hand it over. The picture was one taken by Freddy actually, when he and Billy first started the hero gig. It was of his adult self saluting and winking at the camera as he floated in the air, with his white cape billowing in the breeze and the Philadelphia skyline glittering behind him. It was a good picture, which is why Billy had chosen it. 

Freddy glanced at Billy and mouthed 'I'll kill you.' To the brunet, which only made him smile wider. He took a sip of his coffee and watched as Rosa and Victor ogled over the picture.

* * *

The rest of the day went by relatively peacefully, what with everyone trying out their new gifts and getting food ready for the holiday. Billy wore his new shirt proudly as he helped Rosa get the french toast in the oven, and Freddy was putting on another pot of coffee. 

Eugene was trying out his new games and Darla was marvelling at her new fuzzy socks, which had little kittens on them. She already loved them dearly and only had them for about an hour. 

Pedro insisted that they watch  _ Die Hard _ since technically it is a Christmas movie, but the suggestion was quickly vetoed solely because of the younger siblings. So instead they put on the much more kid friendly Christmas movie,  _ Home Alone.  _ Which in Billy's opinion was the same category of  _ Die Hard, _ just a difference in age ratings and target audience. 

The house soon began to smell wonderful as the aroma of baked bread, brown sugar, and fresh coffee filled the home, and Billy sat on the couch watching the movie with Darla and Mary as Eugene already began yelling at the players on his laptop. 

It was a familiar moment, one that Billy never truly thought that he would have. And out of all the Christmases he has had, all of the crappy ones and subpar ones, the ones where he was on the street or the ones where he was in an overwhelming home, Billy knew that this one was the best. Freddy walked over and plopped next to Billy on the couch, stretching his legs over his brother’s lap and taking a swig of his coffee as he watched Kevin zip-line across the backyard. The brunet smiled and turned back to the movie. 

This was the best Christmas he’s ever had. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, i hope that was good! My brain is just dead right now and i only edited like half of this and had no idea where to go with it, but i think some moments were good! I hope you guys liked the Jewish!Freddy headcanon that i put in here, i did talk with a few mutuals on tumblr who are Jewish so i'd love to thank them for helping me with this chapter!   
> Thank you all for sticking this fic, and sorry to say that i don't know when the next chapter will be. But i can promise that it's coming.   
> Hope you all have a happy New Year and see you all in 2020!! I love you guys!


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